Peer Pressure
by willowfaust
Summary: Adopted from EstrellaGrace. Contains Slash. Jasper has been passed around from one bad situation to another since his parent passed away. Along the way he discovers that vampires mate for life and two dead nightmare from the past come back to destroy everything he has work for. Edward/Jasper
1. Chapter 1

This story was adopted from EstrellaGrace. Stephanie Meyers still owns all (of course). Please enjoy! Feedback is always needed.

Prologue:

The Texas State Foster and Adoption Care Agency had found my last living relatives. My Ma's sister, her husband, and their son. I was being sent to a new state, a new town, a new school, a new house. It's been like this for eight years, ever since my Ma and Pa died.

Before that, I was in and out of different foster homes and group houses for 8 years. During that time the eight-year-old little boy grew up. I had been passed around like a joint. If someone wanted it, they took it from me. After a while, it felt like everyone could take a pass at me.

Eight years worth of scars I now carry, both emotional and physical. I've been pushed around, beat up, left to die, and spit on. I will change that in Forks, WA. I make sure that things will different. I will be stronger. Things will be better because I will never let anyone harm me again.

I will rise above my peers. I will be somebody that my parents could be proud of whenever they look down on me. I will never be weak again. I would rather burn in hell than let the pain of my past become my reality once more.

Jasper Whitlock will not fall again.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The plot is EstrellaGrace's and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's

There is abuse in this chapter so if you aren't comfortable….STOP READING!

The story is adopted and adapted from EstrellaGrace. Thank you. The proofreader is Strongwolfprincess and she can be found on wattpad or on here occasionally.

JPOV

"A big, new family is coming to our little Forks. I was talking to Chief Swan and got him to spill, five new kids our age and their parents, can you believe it! Three dudes and two girls. I heard that one of those guys is as big as a house, won't he be great for the team?" I said to Mike in the locker room after football practice.

"Nice one Jasper," Mike said as he claps me on the shoulder, "Chief has always had a soft spot for you, you know."

"Oh trust me, I know." I am proud of that too. Chief Swan has always liked me, seeing as I am one of the few high schoolers in this town who has never had to deal with the police. I am always careful about getting into trouble and try to avoid it.

Mike is my complete and polar opposite. He and I have been best friends ever since I moved to Forks, Washington a year ago. When we both started our sophomore year. We are starting our junior year now. I was promoted to starting quarterback of the football team a few weeks ago when we were just starting the practice season during the summer.

Coach Clapp said I was moved up because of my hard throws. He also said he liked the way I think. That I was a like a general on the battlefield. He said he liked how strong I would come on to a field. That it would intimidate the opposing team doing it like that.

Mike is the one I credit my success because he has helped me become the player I am today. Seeing as I had never touched a football before coming to Forks High.

I came here determined to be strong. After years of fighting for money, survival, and basic human decency I had developed a thick skin and could put up with a lot. It was Mike that made me into a determined, strong, and popular guy. That's one hell of a step up from where I was before. I owed much of my future career as a football star to Mike. I know that because of him working with me, I will get into a good college without having to pay too much money.

I came to Forks from Texas, and it was not all sunshine and rainbows, it was just plain sunshine. I missed Texas for the ponds and heat, but I am glad that I got out of that hell hole. I didn't miss that.

Mike and I got into his beat up old Chevy Suburban, it was a junker and on it was on its last wheel. But, it was his and he loved it. We drove home to Mike's house, so we could get ready for Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley's Beginning of the Year Party.

Yeah, I know that I say that Mike made me into a real player, but I was the one who made Mike into a player. If you know what I mean. In other words, I made Michael into a ladies man. Now he can get any girl he wants. I have to admit, I am proud of myself. For him though. I gave him, his first real haircut. Got him buff with training. Then, I taught him how to really get a girl's attention. Through the power of words instead of force.

I picked out his outfit for him because the poor kid can't dress to save his life. I put him in a black, button-down shirt and some dark jeans with his normal sneakers then gelled his hair so that it went just the right way.

I take a step back and look him up and down while he turned around mockingly. I deemed him good enough and he went downstairs to make us some sandwiches before the party.

I got dressed in my usual, a gray button-down shirt, washed out jeans, a belt, my cowboy boots, and my lucky buckle. My ma gave me my buckle. I will always make sure to show it off whenever I can. Nobody can love their ma too much. This is my way of showing her, my love.

I kiss the buckle before I put it on, like always, then start heading downstairs to go eat my sandwich, but it turns out that Mike wasn't even done with them.

"Come on Michelle, I didn't hire you as my maid for nothing, now make my food!" Michelle is what I call him when he is acting the part of a maid and he usually plays along.

"Oh dear, it seems that I have been distracted from cooking by thinking of all of this cleaning I must finish, then all of those men I must seduce before the night is over." He says in his high voice.

I tsked at him while trying not to laugh, "Oh Michelle, don't you know that you are like the first slice of bread in a bag? Everybody touches you, but nobody really wants you."

We both laugh and then head out to the driveway. Mike always drives to the party and I get to drive back. I am always the one to drive home from parties because Mike is usually too drunk and out of his mind after these kinds of things.

That, or he decides to spend the night at the house we partied at. I am always holding onto the keys just in case he does decide to use the party as a sleepover with his newest hangup. I don't do that kind of shit, and that's why I am the police chief's favorite kid, besides his own. Never met her but the chief talks about her from time to time.

"I'm doing it tonight, Jasper. I'm finally going to do it tonight." Mike says cryptically.

"What do you mean? We both know that you have done it before so what's new this time?"

"I mean that this is the night that I am going to ask Jessica out…and then I am going to do it with her, as you put it."

"Dude, we both know that she has been wanting you for at least last year. Go for it, man. You won't be disappointed by her answer, that's for sure. I guess that I am going to leave the party without you tonight then?" Mike nods excitedly, I can feel it rolling off of him. I can't help but feel happy for him because he was that happy.

I know that I'm not the one getting laid tonight, but Mike has had a huge crush on Jessica for such a long time. I thought he would never get the courage to act on it.

Even though she was already digging him.

Mike laughs a little. "What you laughing at punk?" I say, sneering my mouth and making a ridiculous face.

"Your accent popped in for a moment there." Damn. I try to keep it out of my voice. The first thing to come out of someone's mouth is, "are you from Texas?"

Which does nothing but bring bad memories. Something I do not appreciate. What do they expect me to say "I'm from New York"? Of course, I'm from Texas, dumbass.

I pulled in front of the house so Mike could get out and go on ahead. He wanted to go inside and find Jessica while I park the old SUV. I circled the block twice looking for spaces, but there were none, so I went down to the next block and parked.

As soon as I pull into a spot and park the vehicle, an ostentatious silver Volvo and beautiful black Porsche parallel parked right behind me and in front of me perfectly. I locked Mike's SUV up, stuffed my hands in my pockets, and start walking towards the party.

I assume that the people behind me are going too. They were following behind me when I started walking. I took a long way around. I even went an extra block to see if they would follow me. They did. I decided I needed to turn around and confront them.

They were the most beautiful people I have ever seen. I am taken aback by their beauty when I first turned.

But my ma raised me to be a gentleman and I quickly wipe my face clean of emotions. They have to be the kids from that new family that just came to town because I have never seen any of them in all my life.

There is a beautiful, curvy blonde who had her arm around a beast of a man who was absolutely huge, there's no comparison to him other than a bear. There is also a dark-skinned, guy who has his arms locked with a petite pixie of a girl with spiky, black hair that went everywhere. A bronze-haired boy stood behind the couples and had the most amazing golden eyes that I have ever seen, they contrasted brightly against his black shirt.

"Hey guys, I don't know what ya'll are up to tonight, but if you are just going to follow somebody around, I suggest you pick somebody else to mess with." I narrow my eyes to show that I am serious and the pixie pipes up.

"We just thought that you were going to that party tonight. We thought we would follow you to see where it is. Sorry, we are all new here and don't really know our way around here just yet." She felt nervous. She looked at me to the ground and back.

"You could have just asked," I gave her small smile before turning around and started walking again. But a little slower this time. I wanted them to catch up with me.

The big guy decided to speak up, "Sorry, man. We just want to find the party." That got snickers out of the group and a wave of amusement.

The only person that was easy for me to talk to and relax and have fun with was Mike. Because he knew what topics to avoid and which ones to emphasize to make me laugh. "I'm Emmett," he says as he shakes my hand then gestures around the group, "and this is Rosalie, Alice, Varian, and Edward."

Varian says, "Call me Vee." At the same time, Rosalie says, "Call me Rose." And they both start laughing. I go over their names and store them in the back of my head. That way I can tell a hungover Mike, later. Whenever I get the chance to see him again.

"I'm Jasper," I said. I reach out to shake all of their hands respectively, but for some reason when I shake Edward's, my hand gets shocked. I yank it back quickly and stuff it in my pocket. He looks as surprised as I was.

"So where is this party?" Rose asked.

"We passed it a block ago. I wanted to see if you really were following me or if you were just going to the party too." Their jaws dropped and Emmett laughed boisterously. I liked him.

I turned us around and we reach the party house in no time. "This is Jessica's party if you didn't know that already." I look directly at Edward. He is watching me intently. "Edward, seeing as you are the only bachelor here when you see Jessica, remember she is off limits. She's for my bud Mike so don't try anything on her, or I'm going after you." He must have thought I was joking because he smiles, but when I don't return the smile, his falls off his face and he looks at the ground. My stomach twisted, making me feel sick.

"Okay." I could barely hear because of the loud music.

We all walked in, and I headed straight for the kitchen knowing Mike will be there. I feel a little bad about leaving those gorgeous new kids at the door, but they looked like they can handle themselves.

"Mike!" I yelled at the booming music and Mike, who was previously leaning on a wall, stumbles over to me and wraps his arm around me, spilling his beer on me in the process.

"Hey, duuuuddee. Were youu drinking? There is beer on your shirt." No shit. "That girl over there is giving you the googly eyes man. Go dance with her."

I lean him back against the wall. Leaving him for the girl. She, in fact, was looking at me like I was dessert. It was over an hour of me dancing on that floor with different girls before I realized I am really thirsty.

I went into the kitchen and got handed a drink by Mike. First I check the contents. When he sees me doing this he rolls his eyes. "Come on, man. It's just coke." He's not setting off my lie detector like abilities and I don't smell any alcohol. Mike would never give me something laced and not tell me. Even when he is drunk, he knows not to mess with me like that. I down the whole thing in just a few gulps. My mouth feels a little numb, by I figure it from the coldness of the soda. Part way through the next dance my stomach started to cramp, then I started to feel jittery and shaky. It was hitting me hard and quick.

That bastard! I stomped over to him. It takes a few long seconds for him to notice me. When he turns to look at me, I hit him so hard in the shoulder that he cringes into the wall from the punch.

"What the hell was that for?" He yells.

"You told me that it was just coke, Mike."

"It is, man. There is coke in the drink. Cocaine, you know...coke? I told you that and you still get mad." I feel myself start to get violent. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears.

I get ready to hit Mike again, but my arm is grabbed from behind by a cold hard hand. It had an iron grip. The same hand guided me out of the kitchen, then out of the house before I could figure out what was happening. I tried to jerk out of the shackle like hold around my wrist, but I quickly gave up once I regain some of my senses. But I still feel like I am discovering a new color or some shit. Edward, I think is his name, is the one who escorted me out. Damn, he was a pretty one.

"I'm okay noooow." I said, but Edward just puts his hand on my shoulder. I like the way his hands feel. On me. He keeps leading me back down the block. He's very strong and much sturdier than he looked.

I must be really fucked up. Normally I have no trouble slipping away from someone. I was taller and more muscled than him. Thanks to football.

"Look, I'm just going to take you back to your house." My answer is to hand over my keys to him. Even when I am high, I still know good sense when I hear it.

Edward walks me over to the passenger side of the car and buckles me in before going to his side as fast as lightning. I didn't even see him move he was so fast! Damn, I'm really high.

He was so close. I felt like the cells in my body were vibrating. The closer he was, the hotter the air.

We drive and we drive and then we drive a little bit more. All I can see are the swirling colors that pass us. Things were blending together in a really bad way. I was feeling sick and dizzy.

I haven't seen another house in miles, only forest, but I guess we are just taking the long way around town. Finally, the car stops and Edward pats my knee saying, "Here we are Cowboy, let's get out of the car now." I looked up and knew I was losing it.

As it turns out, my house must be absolutely beautiful for this place to be where I live. That or the cocaine is making me see my house to be way bigger than it really is.

"My house is really beautiful," I said as I walk in. Two people are standing there when Edward and I entered the front door. There was a blonde man who was a little shorter than me at about five foot and nine inches tall, and a woman with the same brown color of hair that my ma had. The woman's smile grew when she heard my comment, but I avert my eyes when I see her hair color and her face falls.

"Edward, who is this young man," said beautiful lady with the caramel hair said to Edward. She was concerned, I could feel it.

The problem with drugs is they mess with you. Make you feel stuff that's not real. I swear I can feel what they feel. Normally I can tune it out.

It's not nice to exclude me, so I speak up. Ma always told me that you should speak up if somebody is not being nice.

"I am Jasper Whitlock and this is my house so who are yoouu?" They all smile a little but Blondie goes right back to being nothing but serious.

"I am Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife, Esme Cullen," Blon— Carlisle says.

"Carlisle, I came here so you could help him. His friend slipped cocaine into his drink at the party that we all went to and we need to get it out of his system." Edward said urgently.

Still not looking at Miss Esme, Edward and Carlisle take me to a pristine bathroom upstairs. I can feel myself getting light-headed. The edges of my eyesight started to darken...

 _I feel the knife digging into my skin as it slides over my chest, arms, legs, my neck. I try to move but find that I can't so I grit my teeth and strain my muscles but to no avail. The man is coming closer and I can see the deceiving blue of his eyes as he watches me struggle in vain._

 _"No, no Jasper. You can't leave this place. You will always be my little bitch and to be used as my play toy." His low voice laughs when he sees a single tear escape my eye and he leans down to lick it off of my cheek. "Your tears are mine. I created them, and I will swallow them so that I may bring the fear that goes along with them up later to play. Ahh, if only your parents could see you now."_

 _My nails cut into my palms as the knife cuts a little deeper into my skin and his words cut a little deeper into my soul._

 _"Beg me, Jasper, beg me to stop this torture on your once beautiful body. Beg me to stop so that one day a woman will look at your body in awe. If I keep going, nobody will want you and your damaged, mutilated body. I don't want to do this Jasper, I really don't, but you forced my hand and now I have no choice but to punish you. Beg me!" He slides the knife hard into my cheek and I cry out in pain. "Yes, that is what I like to hear. Scream my little nephew, scream like the day that your mother made this mistake that I see before me. You made it into this world, unwanted." I do, I do scream. I yell, and yell, and yell until I feel him grip my neck hard and start shaking me._

There is a new voice calling my name from a distance now and I find it hard to concentrate on it….

"Jasper, Jasper, Jasper, Jasper wake up!" I open my eyes to see Edward frantically looking at me. I feel his cold hands on my shoulders. Worry.

There were two people behind him. That's when I realize that this isn't my room. Hell, this isn't even my house!

"Where the hell am I? What did you do to me, Edward?" He freezes in place. His hands pause and then he slowly takes them off of me. I'm too disoriented to read his body language.

"Don't you remember last night?" _Not really._ "These are my parents, Esme and Carlisle Cullen." Both of them were watching me very quietly. They were letting Edward deal with me. I could tell they were being concerned. But they were both ready to step in if needed. "I brought you here to my house so that we could get that cocaine out of your stomach, so we had you regurgitate it up over the toilet bowl. This is my room. That's where you are right now." Edward said slowly.

"What the hell man? I thought you were going to take me to my house, that's why I gave you the keys to my car, not to take me out in the middle of nowhere where nobody knows where I am." Edward looks down, ashamed. Then his resolve hardens. He should be ashamed. But he feels there was a reason. For a few second his is an open book for me.

"Mother, Father, will you excuse us. Please." They nod and leave the room. I stand up while Edward sits on the couch and hangs his head a little. "My father is the best doctor around. He knew how to get that kind of stuff out of you. To clean your system. The cocaine would have seriously damaged your stomach if we hadn't had gotten it out, so really you should be thanking me." My jaw drops at his words.

Should I be thanking him?

"Edward, I don't think that you understand me here. You took me to a place where nobody but you knows where I am. I could have been killed. Nobody would have ever known." Some of what I had said was making a point. I could see the realization dawning on his face. "Then you have me puke my guts out with a doctor. Who I don't even know if he is a real doctor. I should be thanking you?" I did actually, in my head. But I wasn't going to tell him that. "This is majorly creepy and I really need to be heading home now. So if I could have my keys back that would be great."

I hold out my hand and Edward digs the keys out of his pocket and hands them to me. His hand lingering on mine a little longer than they should. Just under the skin, I can feel a small undercurrent, that I missed immediately when he broke contact. That left me feeling confused.

"I'll walk you out," he said quietly. "I was just trying to help, Jasper. I am sorry. I did not mean to overstep my boundaries." We stopped as he opens the front door for me. "Sorry because I have witnessed first hand what drugs can and will do. How it affects...people. It's not pretty. I only wanted you to be okay." I can feel the sincerity rolling off him. I accepted his apology with just a nod. It may take a few days for me to really forgive him. I want to now, but I don't trust this feeling. I think that we can be really good friends in the future, but not if he keeps this kind of creepy shit up. "Don't worry Jasper, I won't do this kind of thing again."

"Yeah man. Let's hang out sometime, see you at school." With that, I walked out the front door.

Once I was in Mike's old SUV, I decided to stop by Jessica's house. Just in case all didn't work out how I thought would.

Then again, if it didn't work out well, he probably wouldn't still be at her house at five o'clock in the morning. Yeah, he'll be fine. I should leave him there anyway just to get back at him for putting cocaine in my drink.

I drive my way home, park the car, and go to my room to play Sudoku because there is no way that I am going to be able to go back to sleep after a nightmare like that happened.

Go ahead. Push the button. Then review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The plot belongs to EstrellaGrace the rest is Stephanie Meyer's.

There is abuse in this story so if you are not comfortable….STOP READING!

Thank you strongwolfprincess for proofreading this.

JPOV

The weekend passed nicely and I didn't see Mike at all. Not until Monday morning. He showed up on the first day of school wearing nice, almost church-going clothes, that stuck out like a sore thumb.

I walked over to the bench where he was sitting all alone and wrap my arm around his shoulder."Hey man, long time no sees," I said.

"Ha ha, maybe for you Jasper but for me, I saw heaven this weekend." Mike wiggled his eyebrows up and down and I just found my opening to bring up the cocaine incident.

"That's awesome, Mike. You saw heaven and I saw a doctor." I raised one eyebrow and took my arm off of his shoulder, pushing him a little.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Jasper. I was too drunk. Just make sure not to take another drink from me when I'm drunk again and you should be good for all of eternity." What was the point of being mad at him? Mike really was 100 percent grade A jock. "You missed the Cullens. They came to the party, too. When I went around looking for you, everyone said you had left or they hadn't seen you. Dude those two girls you were talking about are smokin' hot and you were right, that one guy is huge!" Mike uses his arms to exaggerate what he is saying while I just nodded along.

"Oh, I saw them alright. Edward Cullen, the one with red hair, was the one who tricked me. He took me to see his doctor of a dad. Then, I passed out at their place. Then afterward, I went home early that morning."

"That's awesome." Hand it to Mike to not get it. "They're all a little weird, aren't they? The big guy, Emmett, told me that they were all foster kids. Some of them are siblings. And get this, they are all together which is kind of like incest right? Well, a roundabout way incest."

"Yeah, roundabout way, I guess." Every one of them looked the same with their golden eyes and alabaster skin. Something tugged at the back of my mind. Something familiar that set me on edge a little. They all look like models off of some fashion magazine. "Which ones are the siblings?" I asked. And here I was thinking that I was going to be the one telling him about the Cullens.

"Edward and Alice are siblings, and the rest of them are all adopted or something. We have seriously got to get some of them on the football team, we would win state if we had them!"

"You say that like we aren't going to win if we don't have them." Mike shrugged in response. "Yo, and where did you get those clothes for the first day of school? I know we were supposed to be a little dressed up but I know that you didn't bring anything with you except for the clothes on your back."

He chuckles. "Remember Jessica's older brother who went off to college?" I nod. "His parents still have some clothes in his old room for when he comes to visit, but you know he isn't coming back anytime soon." Looks like Mike has all the company he needs over at Jessica's house. I feel a little jealous, but then I remember that this is a good thing, for Mike at least.

The bell rings and we all head to the gymnasium. It was time for the idiot principal to talk to us about how this year is going to be great. How we are going to love our teachers and welcome the new students.

He is right about one thing, this year is going to be great…. for the football team! I have been killing it in practice and I know that I will rock all of my games.

Principal Greene dismissed us and we all head out to our different classes. I look down at my schedule that I had picked up earlier this morning from Ms. Cope, and groan when I see that I have Spanish and then English Literature. English is my hardest subject, but since I get along really well with the teacher, Ms. Owens, who has a bit of a crush on me, I usually slide through her class easily with a few winks thrown her way. Spanish is almost just as hard as English, but luckily I am in the lower Spanish class where everything is repeated over and over again so I never really have to listen.

"Hola Bonitos." Señora Roof says to the grumbling class. I sit in the middle of my personal squad of football players. The team has become my click and we always stick together. Spanish class is a bore, but it passes quickly. Easy to do when all you do is talk to your friends, so before I know it, the bell rings and I go to my locker to switch out my books.

Waiting for me is Edward. He is leaning against my locker, trying to look like he belongs in this school when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

He belongs on the front of a magazine.

When he sees me, he immediately straightens up and flashes me a pearly white smile that could make a blind man cry. I do a two-finger wave, undo my lock, and get into my locker. I take out my English stuff while I say, "What's up?" to Edward.

"Where is English Class? I'm having a little trouble finding some classes. I was wondering if you could help me here. Please." He said this as a question as if I wouldn't help a friend out.

"Why don't you just use your map of the school? I know that you have one because I got one last year too." I think I see a little panic go across his face but it is gone so quick that I doubted it was even there in the first place. Maybe he lost his map.

"I did have one, but I lost it when a stupid girl named Lauren fell on me and I had to catch her." I laughed.

"You should have just let her fall, I say." Edward grins widely at my comment. "What is your next class again?"

Without looking down at his schedule he says, "English."

"Great, that's my class too. Sit by me." We fist bump and I feel the shock again.

English is the only class where none of my football friends are in the class with me. That means I am virtually alone, and to make matters worse, it's my worst subject. Mike isn't even in the class with me which, double sucks.

It's better now, I have Edward, so I can deal with it. It's nice to get out of that group once in a while. Sometimes anyway. Most of the jocks are just idiots and it's hard to hold a conversation with them, but Edward is different. I was surprised, he was a really smart guy. In him, I saw a kindred spirit and the potential for friendship.

EPOV

I knew it!

I had felt the mating bond with Jasper. I was only suspicious before, but when we fist bumped, I got that electric feeling again. Just like when our hands had touched my home. I had been drawn to him, ever since we had followed him to that party on Friday night. I never thought of myself as attracted to men but I had felt the bond form and I don't regret.

The only problem is my family. Alice must have already seen this happening, but nobody else in the family knows. I would like to keep it that way. As long as I'm able.

Growing up, my family life had very restricted Christian values. Meaning they all grew up homophobic because being gay was scandalous back in my time. That was the way I was raised.

It's is not like I could just ignore my attraction for him. I'll have to talk to Alice later about this. If she were to tell Vee, and then Emmett found out too soon, that could lead to horrible consequences for me in the middle of it.

Jasper sat down at his table and I take the seat next to him. I study all of the little white scars that cover him and growl lowly. He must have heard me since he turned his head to me and asks, "Did you say something?"

"No." I didn't mean for him to hear me. But I did want to talk to him. "But I was just wondering if you would like to, um, hang out on Saturday? We could go bowling or to the movies or something," I asked. Did that really sound that bad? Yes. I didn't want him to think I was suggesting a date, oh no….What did I just do? I was worried about him rejecting me. I had to remind myself that this was not a date. Nice idea, but I did not want to be rejected before he got to know me.

"Sorry, but I have football practice on Saturday. Maybe you could come to that and show some school spirit, eh?" He nudges me on the shoulder and does a little adorable laugh that I can't help but smile at.

"Yeah, I'll come." I see the corner his mouth turn up with a hint of a smile.

Mr. Banner comes in and bangs his hand on his desk until the class is quiet. He starts talking about how we are going to be reading over his syllabus as partners today then hands out our papers and leaves us to it. Jasper holds his syllabus up in front of him and watches me.

"Take a picture and it'll last longer," I say with a goofy grin and he chuckles.

"Oh, no. I was just waiting for you to read it" Well that's kind of odd. I looked around to see if every group is reading it aloud to each other. Many of them are doing this. I guess it isn't that odd.

"We can switch off in the middle then," I said and Jasper looked a little flustered.

"Why don't you just read it all. I listen better when somebody else is speaking than I do by myself." Auditory learner, I see. I wanted to know everything about this man. He wasn't going to make it easy.

I start reading and Jasper watches his paper but his eyes are unfocused. He nods every once in awhile so I know he's listening, but I doubt that he really is. It is infuriating how hard it is to hear his thoughts. Like he didn't think in words.

"Jasper," Mr. Banner calls from his desk. "Will you come over here for a moment?" Shamelessly I eavesdropped on what they are saying. I needed to know everything that is going on with my mate. I disturbed myself by how possessive I wanted to be. This was a foreign feeling "Mr. Whitlock, have you fixed that little problem that we had last school year?" Mr. Banner takes off his glasses with one hand and looks at my mate intensely.

"Sir, I promise I'm going to fix it, I-I just need a little more time. I have gotten so much better, I swear." Jasper stutters.

"You have been saying that for a while now and we are just getting started with your Junior year now. I don't like to see our football team lose any more than you do, but if you don't get help on this matter, then I will have no choice but to pull you from the team so you can work more on your grades. I do not want to do this Mr. Whitlock, but you have forced my hand at this point. This cannot go on. I suggest that you get a tutor to help you out and if you can't find one then I am sure that the school might be able to help you out. This is something that everybody needs to learn, Jasper. You can't just procrastinate on something so vital."

Jasper sighs, "Yes, sir." and walks back to his seat. He puts his head in his hands and I barely remember to pretend like I don't know what Mr. Banner was just saying.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing new. Mr. Banner told me that I need to get a tutor. It's nothing really." His face was red as flames and I am immensely curious about what the problem is about.

"So then what's the problem? All you have to do is get a tutor." It seems really easy to me.

"Well, my schedule is not very easy to work around. I have school, obviously, and then immediately after I have football practice until seven o'clock and then I've gotta eat something and by then it's nighttime. I just don't have the time on the weekends and even then I have games every other weekend." I had an idea.

"Hey, I'm a really good tutor. I can teach you just about everything." I have taken almost everything. I knew I would be able to tutor him. "I know you said you're busy every day after school but that just means that we will have to do it in the morning." I lite up at the thought of spending more time with him. It was even voluntary, I wanted to do it. That way he would be with me because he wants to.

Jasper's head lifted up and his mood became more somber from my words. His thoughts were heavily laced with emotions. That made it very hard to read. I couldn't help but feel melancholy that I was the one to put that look on his face. "Edward, I don't think that you could teach me this. Just drop it, I'll figure something out." I can't have him thinking that about me! Finally a clear thought.

"Oh…. all right, Jasper." If I push too hard, he may close down and shut me out. "I am confident that I could help so…. just give me a call if you change your mind." He seems really embarrassed, but I really hoped that he did call me. It didn't even have to be school related. Writing down my cell phone number, I give it to him with a smile.

I really wish I knew what he was thinking, everything was fuzzy. It was so frustrating not to know what is going on in his head.

On the outside, he was cool and calm. On the inside, every thought had a blur of high emotion. H wasn't blocking me. It was like he was slightly out of tune. I suspected a gift. I really want to ask Carlisle for advice about this. He had walked this earth longer than me.

"Thanks for the offer dude, but I gotta admit, I'm not going to call about the tutoring deal." I feel a little sad but I think Jasper notices because he immediately brightens up at my expression with faux happiness.

"Hey, but I'll text you about our first game whenever I find out. See you later, pal." He taps my shoulder as he goes to leave. Being friendly. I absolutely love the connection between us. I feel like we can make it work if we just try hard enough but there is still one part of this puzzle I still don't have figured out. How am I supposed to make Jasper like me like that?

JPOV

That was really nice of him to say that, but I didn't want to rope the new guy into tutoring some idiot on the football team. If Edward knew what he would be volunteering for, he would probably take back the offer anyway. If I am going to get somebody to help me, then it is going to be a professional. That way, nobody at school will find out and I won't become a social pariah.

Lunch is here quicker than I thought it would be and all of my stress has made me into one hungry man. I got to lunch a little late because I had gone to Mr. Banner to tell him that I had a plan. Meaning the school didn't need to hook me up with a tutor.

I walked in and hurried to the lunch line for my food. Like always, people part for me to go to the front of the line. Sitting at my table, Mike on one side and Tyler on the other, we talk football, like always, but this time I get a little bored. It's all we ever talk about, football this and football that.

I wished I could be talking to Edward. I quickly shake that thought out of my head. Tyler and Mike have been my friends longer than Edward so I shouldn't wish for that kind of stuff. I caught myself feeling like a girl.

"Jasper wake up dude. You've been out of it for like, five minutes. We were going over the starting line up for the game on Saturday." Tyler says while waving a hand in front of my face.

I hear clicking sounds behind me and I turn to see Lauren Mallory in her high heels walking straight at me. That is if you call swaying your hips walking. I am surprised that the school lets her wear what she does. She is wearing a leather mini skirt that shows the bottom of her ass and a lace shirt where you can see the outline of her nipples through it. The first day of school and I'm sure that she is already starting a high school brothel.

"Hey Jazzy poo," ugh...Lauren says as she sits in my lap, "I was wondering if you might wanna….meet up after school to study our chemistry." She does this every once in awhile, every other week, and I would get Mike to go to her for me because I don't wanna have sex with that skank, but now that Mike and Jessica are together, I have no other choice but to tell her no.

"Look, Lauren, I don't like you like that. Not interested, babe." You're really not my type.

"Oh come on, you know it'll be fun with just you and me, and maybe I'll even bring one of my girlfriends too." I decide to play with her a bit.

"Oh, well then count me in." You wish. "Your house at 7:30 and I'm in baby." I give her a Whitlock smirk that flows through the family and she goes to give me a kiss. I turn my head at the last second and the kiss lands on my cheek. She jumps up and trots back to her table with a skip in her step.

She just got me, Jasper Whitlock, to agree to have sex with her and you can tell that will be the highlight of her week. If I were to show up that is. You see, I don't do that kind of stuff with the girls here, or anywhere for that matter. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that all the ones I meet are premature prostitutes, so now Lauren thinks that she is going to be the first one to catch me.

I can see the whole table of Cullens watching me. I roll my eyes and turn back in my seat to eat my long-awaited lunch. Creepy.

Lunch is done when I hear the bell and I head out to Government class. Then it is on to precalculus. I love percal because numbers are my favorite types of words, I get along a lot more with numbers than I do letters because when you speak numbers, you always know the right answer. English teachers want opinions, math teachers want right answers. Opinions are a lot harder to say and then be told if your opinion is right or wrong. Not like I do anything in either class other than talk with my friends, but I still hate English.

Physical Education comes quickly and I find that I have that class with Edward too. We play football and coach say that we are doing it this time of year because it is football season, but everybody knows that it is only because he wants the football team to get as much practice in as they can before the first game comes up. So we throw and throw, and we even do a scrimmage for the ones who want to play.

I was disappointed when I notice that Edward was sitting with most of the girls. He was watching. He seemed to be watching with interest but no want to play. I guess I won't be the one to persuade him to play on the team if he won't even play in P.E. He looks like he has a really good throwing arm though so I make a mental note to ask him about playing later, even if he is likely to turn me down.

We are all dismissed at three o'clock. We head down to the locker room to change into our practice gear for football, and regular clothes for the people who don't play football. Eric Yorkie decides to twist his shirt up and smack me across the thigh with it. It turns into an all-out free for all in the boys' locker room. Sometime during the war, Edward had slipped out and I had missed my chance to ask him to try out for the team.

There is always tomorrow, I guess.

After school, practice goes by as well as it always does and I am improving by the day. Coach pulls me aside to remind me of that school problem and I tell him that I have it all under control, and I do…. almost. I make sure to mention that I am trying to get Edward to join the team and Coach says that I should try to get all of those Cullens to show up to practice one day. But I doubt that is going to happen.

After practice, Mike and I start to head home. When we get there, he is inside long enough to get a few thing and then runs back out. He tells me to drop him back off at Jessica's house again, now that he has a new change of clothes.

I am a little disappointed that I haven't been getting to spend much time with Mike these past few days. But I'm sure that he will come back soon enough. I really am happy for Mike now that he has Jessica, but now it leaves me alone with myself. I am not good company for my own mind.

So I decide to break out that Sunday paper that we got yesterday and do the puzzles. The jumbles are the hardest. They are the most confusing. I enjoy looking at the comics before I go to bed. I remember doing the paper with my grandpa every morning when I was a little boy. Before I was taken away from him.

After a while of laying in my bed, I did drift off to sleep. I am happy that I don't have a nightmare because Mr. and Mrs. Newton hate it when I wake up yelling. My nightmares always end up waking the whole house along with me, but usually, Mike is here to calm me down. I really do hope that Mike and Jessica don't do this every night just in case I need a friend to calm me down. I focus on what I have to do tomorrow to take my mind off bad thoughts.

Review! Come on you know you want to. Come on, hit the button. It's right at the bottom of the page! Smile guys and enjoy your day.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The plot is EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's

There is abuse in this story so if you are uncomfortable…Please stop reading!

Adopted from EstrellaGrace.

JPOV

I woke up with a crick in my neck. That was just a bad way to start the day, dammit it. I went to bed knowing that today was going to be shitty.

My morning is mechanical because I prefer to keep a very structured routine. Every school morning I get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, listen to music.

It may be a cliche for me to enjoy country music, but what else do you expect from a kid from Texas? Not that modern country shit. I like the older stuff. Sometimes I like to sing along, but not very loudly. If Mike or his parents caught me singing, I would never hear the end of their laughter. I don't like to be laughed at. I have had enough of that growing up.

"All my exes live in Texas, that's why I hang my head in Tennessee," I sing quietly, so as not to disturb the slumbering adults.

This is how it is every day, and I don't want to deviate from my very set schedule at home. But I do need to get to school early. I need to get on the computers in the library. Coach Clap had suggested a website that might be able to help me.

I hurry to school in Mike's old car and head in when I get there. I make sure to arrive only thirty minutes early so that I don't look too out of place.

I have always been very self-concise of myself. Sometimes it like I can feel what people think of me. I am not hearing their thoughts. More like I am feeling what they feel. It makes me feel insane sometimes.

Nobody is here except the janitor and the librarian. The library was quiet when I arrived. I let out a sigh of relief. Thankful for the quietness, I go to the section in the library that I need and check out a few books. I keep looking over my shoulder at the door every few seconds to make sure that nobody sees me, and quickly shove the novels into my backpack. I sit down in the far dark corner with my books and start reading.

People start coming in slowly and it gives me a sense of the time. You can only get so much done in a half an hour. I look down at my stack and realize that I got very little done in reality. Halfway through the first book is not a good sign. When I heard the five-minute bell ring, I sighed.

This day is going by just as slow as ever. My classes are repeated from yesterday. The only variation to my schedule is that every other day, which is today, my P.E. is switched to a study hall. That class doesn't come until later.

Strangely enough, I am looking forward to it, I don't understand, but I am looking forward to seeing Edward there. I try to shake off the thought and focus on other things. I can't help it.

English with Edward was boring yesterday but wasn't his fault. The only thing we really did was watch a biography.

Lunch was when my whole day went to shit. Just as I predicted it would this morning. I was just sitting there, minding my own business, and eating pizza with my friends. Then, I heard the clicking sound of heels behind me. Multiple clicking noises. Great, more than one set of heels.

Ignore them, I tell myself. What I can't ignore is a tap on my shoulder. I huff and turn around, only to feel the icy cold wetness hitting me from more than one side.

I feel like I am drowning. Bad childhood memories flashed before my eyes. My instinct is to lash out. Some rational sense invaded my mind before I did that. It was Lauren and Jessica who decided to throw four cups of water in my face, one in each hand.

"Hey retard," Lauren starts. "Nice of you to show me up yesterday! You can't just do that to a girl and not expect payback. This is the last time I am going to let it slide. Yeah, I remember all the times last year when you would send one of your buddies, and I'm not going to forget that anytime soon. I'm going to make you regret the day you were born."

Those last words seal the deal. Even the way she said those words got to me. I stood up fast. I was angry. Both Jessica and Lauren took a step back in fear. I turned and walked as calmly as I could. I head out of the room while I am inwardly freaking out.

As soon as I made it out the doors, I ran as fast as I could to the car. Getting in, I sat down in the driver's seat and put my head on the steering wheel. I take big deep breaths while trying to slow down my heartbeat. My heart felt like it was trying to beat itself out of my ribcage.

The passenger-side door opened, but I don't move my head to look and see who it was. I was afraid that if I did, that everything that I was feeling would come spilling out. I was shaking I was so angry. I felt like my head would explode from all of my racing thoughts.

My uncle, when I did something he deemed as bad, would hold my head down in a bucket of water. He would do this until I passed out from lack of oxygen. Then the sick bastard would revive me so that he could do it all over again.

I could have handled them only throwing the water at me. But once she said those words, "I am going to make you regret the day you were born," it became too much for me. That kind of verbal abuse was one of my uncle's favorite ways to terrorize me.

"Hey, what happened back there? Are you okay?" I recognized Edward's voice and I laugh at myself. Of course, it wouldn't be Mike coming to check up on me. It was the shy foster kid. Being in the foster care system, he probably could see right through me.

No, Mike was off being Mike. He was too busy with his girlfriend to know when I need a shoulder to lean on. The same said girlfriend that was part of this mess.

I pulled myself together for Edward's sake if not mine. The dude hadn't even been here a week and I have already put him through quite a shitload. First, he drives me to Dr. Dad while I am high. Because we were at a party. Second, he watched me break down in English because my chances of playing football are in danger and that is my one real chance at a career. I'm still floundering the dark about what do about that. I feel like I don't have time to look for help. Third and last, he watched me break down because of a couple of mean girls at school. Oh yeah, that was real manly.

At least I'm not crying, that would have made this situation ten times worse. I don't want anyone to see me at my lowest. Besides, I don't cry. I haven't done that in eight years.

"I'm fine, man," I said. I forced all my emotions into a tightly locked box. I don't want my emotions to show. There was something about him that makes me feel calmer.

"You are obviously not fine right now. I know I am the new kid and you don't want to burden me or whatever. I don't care. I am a great listener. I may not have gone through the same things that you have, but I have seen and dealt with a lot of crap." Edward's words are said very quietly, but they help me. Even his presence next to me is tremendously calming. "I consider you to be my only friend right now, other than my siblings, and I want to help you."

"Okay, I'm not fine right now. Just give me a minute Ed, and I will be." Guess we're on a nickname basis, my bad. I really just wanted him to give it up, I think to myself. Liar, my other half-whispered to me. I quickly squashed that part of me that wanted to confess to him. He stays quiet for a while.

I didn't understand why I trusted him. I felt peaceful around him. The two of us spent a fair amount of time not talking during the lunch hour. I needed the quietness to regroup myself.

I could tell he was feeling me out. I suspected he was looking for a kindred spirit. With Edward being a foster kid, that meant there was no telling what he had seen or done. Thinking about my time in foster care made me shiver.

I had wanted to believe that. Unfortunately, there was something about him that reminded me of something or someone. I couldn't put my finger on it.

"I want to do something this weekend," Ed said. I looked at him and shrugged. What's that got to do with me? He laughed at my expression and I scowled. "I'm not laughing at you, Cowboy. I meant that I want to do something this weekend, but I don't know where anything is. Frankly, I don't feel like being dragged around by Alice and Emmett. I don't know where there's a good music store. I was hoping maybe, that you were more social than me. Maybe you could show me something that you all do for fun around here?"

Oh, well when you put it like that….

"Yeah, sure." That actually sounded like fun. "It'll have to be Sunday. I have some friends down in La Push that I have been meaning to see for a while. I guess I could introduce you to some of the guys." Jacob and Seth didn't think highly of Mike. I wondered what they would think Edward. I wanted to find out. "And what's the whole 'Cowboy' deal?" He seems to panic for a moment but quickly covered it up.

"Sorry, it's your accent, the boots, the buckle. You try to hide the way you talk, but I have spent some time in Texas and Mexico." He smiled shyly at me with one side of his lips curving up more than the other. The perfect crooked grin. Why do his eyes look so old? "I know you try to hide it, I even understand why. I think you are being silly. But like I said, I understand."

It took me a few seconds to digest what he said. Sometimes it felt like he was trying to say something else. Edward was very guarded.

"Sunday sounds great." Then his face drops. I can feel how upset he is now and disappointed. "Carlisle doesn't want any of us to be going to La Push. Something about it being too far away from home."

Lame excuse. That felt fake as shit. I can tell it's fake but I don't point it out to him. I can always smell a lie. Normally I can feel why, but Edward was hard to read. "We can go to Port Angeles though, I've had a few places I like to visit there. They might be up your alley." Port Angeles was further away.

I actually should be visiting my friend Jake. I wanted to go cliff diving before the water gets too cold, I make a mental note of that. Now I'm looking forward to this weekend. Shame Edward wasn't joining me. This thought made me shiver.

"Um, yeah. Sure Ed," I couldn't help but smile. "But it means you are carpooling since you thought of it." I'm not made of money here, and gas is expensive. Most of my money from my parent's death has been spent by my numerous guardians and I am trying my best to save what I have left of it.

I see him nod very slightly. "Great, I was going to suggest that anyway since I probably drive faster than you." I would have retaliated, but I had a feeling that my next class was about to start. The government class was going to be starting really soon.

I saw him flash me a crooked grin. He was as good at reading people as me. He was not a normal teenager. I had no room to talk.

"Bell just rang," he said. I saw him glance towards the school building. Edward and I had been out here for a while and neither of us would have been able to hear the bell from this far out. How did he hear it? My hearing had always been really good and I didn't hear it.

I lock Mike's car behind us as we both get out and head back inside the school. The classes go by and I am grateful when study hall is here. I sit in the classroom with my football friends and feel a little bad about leaving Edward out.

That feeling went away when I glanced over at him, I noticed he has caught the attention of Lauren Mallory. She was currently blabbering on about some shit and Edward was looking around the room for an escape. When his eyes met mine, he and mouthed the words, "Help me!" I shrug and he glared at me.

"Hey, New Yorkie," Eric looked over at me quickly. He was just glad to see that I was giving him my attention. "Go over there and tell Mallory that you wanna fuck." He winked at me and did just that. I was trying not to be disgusted that he would even consider what I had said. I wouldn't touch that girl with a ten-foot pole if I could help it.

The relief rolls off of Edward. Almost like I can feel how relieved he is. He looked towards me and smiled gratefully. I just nod and get back to talking strategy with my friends.

When the bell rings, I gather my team and walk outside. There is a Volvo and Porsche in the parking lot. That's where all of the Cullens were hanging around, the guys in the Volvo and the girls in the Porsche.

I jog over to the window of the Volvo, where Edward, Emmett, and Varian are, and knock on the driver's side window. Emmett is driving with Edward in the passenger's seat and Varian in the back.

"What's up?" Emmett asks me and my squad of football players behind me.

"Hey there guys, just coming around to see if you would join the football team. Y'all look strong enough to take out half the field!" Flattery, one of my best subjects. There is no way you can go wrong with a few compliments. The boys looked around at each other. Then it looked like they were having some kind of conversation but nobody was talking. This family was creepy.

Vee being the spokesperson said, "I don't know guys. We aren't really all that into sports. On TV, maybe, but playing isn't near as fun." What a stick in the mud. Edward and Emmett seem to be in disagreement, even if they did not say anything. There was something about Vee that didn't sit well with me. Everybody else seemed to buy it and my squad started to walk away, but I'm not done yet.

"Okay, I agree with you…. sorta. But," and I held up one finger. "Just come to our practice today and see if you change your mind then. It isn't too late to join the team, you know. Always open to some new members." I really don't want Coach to be disappointed in me. I wanted them to get a taste and see if they liked it. If I can at least get them to come to a practice, he might go a little easier on me.

They look around at each other again, then before Vee can get the words out of his mouth, Ed locked his eyes with me then looked back at Vee. The next thing I hear is,"bite me, Vee. One time at practice isn't going to hurt anybody. If you don't want to do it, just come back and get me later. I'll call the house when I'm ready to come home." Ed said as he got out of the car. I look back at to see Emmett opening his door. Emmett looks scary when he's excited. Vee is the opposite and is scowling with his arms crossed, but he followed his brothers and me, nonetheless.

My football squad looked back at me and they all start giving each other discreet high fives when they see that I managed to get the Cullen boys to at least come.

"This is great! Coach is going to want to talk to y'all sometime before or after practice. Don't be too intimidated by him. Hell, he'd be happy if you all were even cheerleaders seeing as Emmett here could scare half of the opposing team away just by being there." They all chuckle a little bit and I lead them down to the locker room in the basement of the gym.

I start whipping off my clothes along with all of my buddies when I get to my gym locker and the Cullens look shy. I keep talking to try and ease some of their discomforts.

"Call Coach Clapp, Coach when you," off with the shirt, "get out there. He is really picky about that. He might," pants pulled down, "call you out once or twice to throw a ball but don't be," sliding cup into my underwear, "embarrassed if your throw isn't all that great. There will," shoes off and shoulder pads on, "always be time to perfect your throw," pulling up my football pants, "and catch. I'll even," on with the jersey, "help you all out if you need a hand." I tuck my shirt in, pull on my socks, and start tying my cleats. Ed's eyes were kept downcast on the ground. While Vee and Emmett's were looking at their feet. It really doesn't bother me to be undressed because we're all guys here, nobody cares about your junk.

Emmett and Vee didn't dress out. I and some of the other boys help me find some extra practice pads for Edward. It doesn't take long to show him how to put everything on. I continued to talk to him as he pulled the beat up practice uniform on.

"We always start practice by running down and back the field twice just to get us warmed up." Vee still looks like he would rather be eaten by a shark than be here so I give him another option. An out. "Yo, Vee. If you seriously aren't interested at all, the cheerleaders are practicing by the bleacher, go have fun." I pat him on the shoulder and it seems to loosen him up. He chuckles along with me, too bad I wasn't kidding. I would rather be watching the cheerleaders than running but I am a dedicated player to my team.

I start running with my pals while the Cullens are talking to Coach. The other quarterback and I start our own practice and as do all of the others. We go into our own groups to work on what needs to improve. I noticed that Coach is trying to make this practice seem extra appealing to the Cullens so that they might be more motivated to join. He tells us that we are going to be doing a scrimmage today so we go off into our usual teams. I look over at Ed and Emmett, I know Vee is lost cause.

I notice Edward's eyes are following me. Periodically when I would look over at them, Edward was always looking at me. I'll have to ask him about that weird behavior later but right now I need to win this scrimmage.

I throw the ball to Mike who was on his way to the touchdown line and he makes it with the other team right on his tail. Mike starts dancing and throws the ball back to me. We go over to the bench to rub it in the other team's face that we won. That when I see the Cullens standing up and clapping for us. I do a mock bow and toss the ball to Ed who catches it swiftly.

"Nice catch!" I yell. He smiles at me and ducks his head, I was going have to try to get rid of the shyness in him. That won't do for sports players. "Throw it back now," I yell back. I see him line his fingers up with the laces on the ball. Then with incredible speed, he fires the ball back at me.

I just barely catch it in time for it not to hit my face and my hands sting from the power of the throw. Shit, I think to myself. I bend at the waist and stick my damaged hands between my thighs. That seriously hurt! Now I can really feel it. My team doesn't notice my pain. Thank God.

I hear an "I'm sorry," from Edward. He's upset, I can tell and he's coming closer. I try to wave him off with my wounded hands and go back to join the team before we head back to the locker room. Only Edward goes to the locker room with the rest of the guys. I get the feeling Emmett won't be joining the team.

Edward finds a corner to himself and dresses out. Not looking at anyone. He is not a social creature, is he? If he is going to hang me with that was going to change.

How long had he been the foster system before the Dr. Cullen adopted him? I found myself burning to ask him a few question. I took my time to study him. I see small OCD things. Always neat and tidy. Always polite. Shy. Doesn't like to make friends. He won't talk to anyone unless they talk to him first, except for me and family. Honestly, I don't think he is being abused or anything like that. There is a few piece that doesn't mesh quite right. The more I talk to him, the more I want to know about him.

I sit on the bench in the middle of the locker room. I haven't put my shirt on yet. Due to the pain in my hands. Thank God, I keep lotion in my locker in case I get a burn during practice. As I go to reach for said lotion, I see a shadow appear above me. Looking up, I see Edward.

"Sorry about your hands, Cowboy." He said very softly. He's worried that he has done something wrong. "I really didn't mean to hit you that hard. Must have been the wind helping me out or something." His eyes meet mine briefly and then dart away. He's trying to figure out how upset I am. "I hope that this isn't going to impair our plans for Sunday are they?" His presence is just exuding nervousness.

I can't help but chuckle at him. I knew that there wasn't any wind blowing. I would have welcomed it on my overheated body. I would have noticed.

"Well duh, Ed. I should be applauding if I could use my hands. You have an amazing throw. You really got a great arm on you there, you could put it to good use by joining the team, you know." I raise my eyebrows hopefully but he just shakes his head with a small smile. He wants to, I can tell. Maybe I can wear him down. "It was a longshot. Hey, if you want to make it up to me, you could help me put my shirt back on."

He jumps at my suggestion, probably thinking I was joking. Unfortunately, I could really use all the help I can get right now. Mike is probably fuming in the car right for now for taking so long. Let him even say a word to me, I'll beat his ass if he gives me any bullshit.

I stand up and raise my arms like a little child and we both start laughing. He helps me quickly and I sit back down. I grab the lotion slowly and start to open the top with my teeth. Ed snatches it for me and starts putting it on my hands.

"Whoa there, pal. No need to make this any more awkward than it is already. I can do this part myself, I'm a big boy you know." I slowly start moving my palms together and grit my teeth through the pain. Ed grabs my wrists and pulls my hands back over to him.

"Let me ease my conscience here. This is the least I can do for messing up your perfect football hands." It still hurts when he uses his cold hands to massage my warm ones. Strangely enough, he seems to know what he's doing. It still hurts. I don't tell him that. I just close my eyes and try to think of something else. His hands are really cold actually, at least they are soothing the burn of the pain. Somewhat.

"In Alaska, I was taking introduction medical classes after school. I was learning the fundamentals. I was interested in learning physical therapy." I wasn't complaining. Was he able to do messages and rub down, too? Would he be willy I wondered?

The weird things about this family are really not adding up. Ed is cold, super strong, he moved really fast that one time I was high. I have been forced or conned into taking all kinds of drugs growing up, cocaine may speed you up, but it doesn't make everyone else do it too. Acid maybe, but not cocaine. I'm not sure if the speed thing counted. There were other things I wanted to question. Like the way he and his siblings were acting like they were having a conversation in the car when nobody was talking. I'm not going to pry into what doesn't concern me but his cold hands make me concerned that he is anemic or something. In the back of my mind, it does make me think of something else, but I don't remember.

"My little buttercup has the sweetest smile…. Dear little buttercup, won't you stay awhile….." My ringtone for Mike started blaring and Ed grabbed it out of my gym bag and held it to my ear. I shoot him a look of gratefulness.

"Hey, yo Jasper?" I hear Mike's voice on the other end. I hear Jessica giggling and then Mike moaning into the phone.

"Mike, what?" He moans again and I am suspicious that he might have butt dialed me, but he said my name so he obviously did it on purpose.

"Just called to say that you don't need to be waiting for me at school anymore. Jessica's parents are on vacation for a few months and I am just going to be staying at her house for a little while." Then another giggle, "don't wait up." The phone cuts off, saying that he ended the call. Well, there goes my best friend and cousin for a while. At least I'll still see Mike at school. That is if he decides to come to school at all. Why would he, if he is constantly around a horny, teenage girl. No straight guy in his right mind would think otherwise.

Ed and I walk out to our cars, his full of impatient boys, and mine is empty. Edward is greeted with a glare from Vee and Emmett ruffling his hair, making it stick out in every direction.

Mike always kept his hair short and spiky. He always teased me for having long hair, but I liked that way. Ma uses to comb and play with it. I left it long for her. Edward's hair had that mad scientist thing going for him. Fits him.

I leave him with a simple goodbye and pull out of the parking lot, driving with my forearms. He watches me drive off and I wave as I leave. I decided to give Mike's parents some excuse for him being gone for a while. Not that they would care if they knew where he was anyway.

Slipping carefully out of my clothes, I polished my buckle and crawled under the covers.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The plot belongs EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's. There is abuse in this chapter so if you are uncomfortable….Please stop reading.

JPOV

First thing I do when I get up, is trying to read a few more pages of the book. I felt like I was trying muddle through ancient Greek. Some words were easier than others. Not even out of bed and my brain felt fried.

I put it down to get started for the day. Must not be sidetracked from my routine. First is my shower and bathroom routine before breakfast. I don my normal long-sleeved, checkered shirt and jeans with my buckle.

I watched the news for a little bit, then I went back to our room to tell Mike something before I remembered that he was still at Jessica's. That reminded me to write a note to explain Mike's absence. Then I put it on the kitchen counter before heading out to school.

I was speeding my way to school because the note that I had written had set me back a few minutes. So much for my perfectly timed schedule. Words are hard for me, numbers just make more sense.

I'm happy that I don't have to truck all of my football gear to school today since it is Wednesday. That means we don't have practice. Maybe the Cullen boys will change their minds about the team and will join. Edward was the only one that showed any real interest in yesterday's activities. But I won't pester him, too much. I have a feeling that it is not going to happen. There is something holding him back. I'm not sure what is holding him. He was like an onion, very layered.

I had to run to biology class. I barely made it through the classroom door before the final bell of the morning rang. I flashed the teacher a million dollar smile and sat down at my desk. Spanish goes by just as easily as biology. Then I'm off to English Literature. I stop at my locker first to find Edward there again.

"Hey, Cowboy," he said as I approached.

"Howdy, Ed," I say to humor him. I let some of my Texas accent slip through, "Ready for English?"

Ed smiled at my stereotypical greeting. "As ready as I'll ever be. Heard we're going to be starting our first book of the year next week, I think it is called Wuthering Heights so don't forget to bring your reading glasses," he joked. I try not to cringe at that comment. He didn't know that I do actually have reading glasses.

Shit! I bite back a gulp and try to appear calm by talking more. I think he bought it. "Yeah, I heard from one of the seniors that he only gives us three books to read all year. Then most of the time we all take turns reading out loud in class. I wish we could just do it at home instead of in front of the whole class, the pressure is high, you know? It's going to be boring as hell." I rambled out quickly just so I would have something to say. Next week is definitely going to be bad, and it's only the first week of school!

Edward barked out a laugh. It sounds like it came from the gods. Whats wrong with me? Then he followed me into the classroom.

A note is slipped next to my right hand and I look down to see beautiful calligraphy that I couldn't copy if I tried. I am slow to puzzle it out. Reading is the hardest thing for me. I think the note says: _Jasper, sorry I won't be joining the team, but I will come to your games to cheer you on. I have a feeling that you are going to have a great season this year._

I'm a little offended and confused by the note. Is our team not good enough for them to want to join, or are they not big sports fans. Emmett looked like he'd be up for anything having to do with sports. So why did he decline?

Something is definitely up here. I turn the note over with the words face down on the table so no one else can read it. I'm sure that my face is giving away the emotions I am feeling right now. When class ends, Edward and I walk to lunch together.

"Hey Cowboy, how do you want to do Sunday? Are we going to go in the same car or do you want to drive separately from me," he asked as we were walking down the hallway.

"Sure, whatever you want to do is cool with me. I thought that we had agreed to carpool when we first made these plans. Oh, I heard there's a new bowling alley opening," I offer up again. Maybe he forgot.

Edward and I walk through the lunchroom doors and fist bump. "Sounds good, Cowboy. I'll pick you up at noon on Sunday." Edward starts to walk away, but I grab him by the arm to still him.

Damn, his arm muscles are rock hard. Solid. What kind of gym did he go to? I couldn't help but notice. He was lean like a runner or a swimmer. A perfect body. He was incredibly toned. Then I realized I still had my hand holding firm to his arm. I was still touching him. Very slowly I peel my finger away from him.

I was feeling something I wasn't use to feeling. Something in the pit of my stomach twisted. Then I realized he was watching me like I'm a feral animal. Then I realize how awkward I was being.

"Shouldn't I be the one drivin'? I am the one showing you around and all." I was trying to ignore that fact I just groped him.

"Jasper," he said as he pats me on the shoulder. "Mike is going to need his car back sometime and that hunk of junk can't go above 60. We're taking my car." He is very firm about that. He walked away and I let him go this time. My body wants to follow, but I stop and head back to jocks' table.

I don't want to buy my own lunch today, so I go to my table and start picking and choosing food of other people's trays.

When lunch is over, the rest of the day goes by quick and P.E. is a blast. I walk out to the car only to see Ed's pixie sister, Alice. She is leaning against the hood of Mike's car with her hands behind her holding her up. When she sees me, she straightens up immediately and a large smile breaks out on to her face. It looks like she is vibrating in place but when I get there. I can see that she is just rocking from her tiptoes to the heels on her feet.

"I'm glad to finally meet you. Formally. Trying to get information out of Edward is like pulling teeth. He is such a loner." Yes, I know. That was something I had noticed right off the bat, on day one. That was something I liked about him. "So...When are you coming to our house? Can it be next week? How about Monday? Ooh, I am so excited! You will have a bunch of fun. Please say you'll come?" She says this so fast. All with one single breath and it takes my brain a moment to comprehend her words.

"Uh, hi, Alice. Umm…. I'm not too sure that I should be coming to your home so soon," I said awkwardly.

She frowned and her nose scrunched up adorably. "Why not? Is there something wrong with our house?" I open my mouth to speak, but she took the words right out of my mouth. "Oh, you think that Carlisle and Esme hate you. Because of last time. They know that it wasn't your fault. Trust me, they don't blame you for the cocaine incident. They blame Mike instead. So you're in the clear. Actually, they like you already and they really want you to come over so they can really meet—."

Edward came up out of nowhere and puts one arm around her waist and another hand on her mouth. He picked her up off the ground and took her away. He didn't let go of her until he reached the Volvo.

I shrugged and put my backpack in the front seat of the car. Then I climbed in while they are having a very heated argument with gargantuan gestures. Ed walked slowly over to me after he stopped bickering with Alice, knocking on the hood of the car as he comes up to the car.

"Jasper, I'm sorry about Alice. I didn't know that she was going to interrogate you or else I would have stopped her." Ed hangs his head in apology peaks out from his long red lashes.

"Whoa, Ed. You couldn't have possibly known what she was going to do. Plus, I didn't mind her talking to me. She's harmless." I put my hand on his arm. He lifted his head and looked into my eyes. Even with my jinx, I can't read him. I'm normally better at deciphering emotions. "For real, it's no biggie." And it really isn't. In fact, I like getting approached by pretty girls who don't only want to get in my pants.

"So since we are bowling on Sunday, do you really want to spend the day with me again on Monday?" Ed asked. That was a silly question.

"Well, if Alice would've given me some room to talk, I would have told her that I have football practice every day. Except for most weekends and Wednesdays. So, unless it's canceled, I can't come," I say with a shrug of my shoulders. I lean back in the seat of the car.

Ed's face falls for a fraction of a second before he tilts his head and his eyes seem to become unfocused for a second. Once he comes back to reality, the mood quickly changes to elated.

"No, I watched the news last night. We're supposed to have thunderstorms Monday. I remember Monday being forecast as thunder and lightning along with the normal rain. Guess we'll just have to see if Coach calls it off or not. Really, I think you should just spend the night on Sunday, then you can just ride to school us. Hell, then you can go back to our house again for another all-nighter." Ed smiles like the cat that ate the canary. Which makes me think he has something up his sleeve. He's up to something.

I nod and show him a small smile in return. For some reason, the idea of going to his house both gives me the chills and makes me thrilled at the same time. "Yeah, sure." Ed puts his hand on my bicep and rubs my arm. Every time we touch skin to skin I get a static discharge that leaves me feeling strange.

"Crossing my fingers that your practice is canceled." Now I am hoping too. "I really want to introduce you to my parents on some better terms."

"Meet the parents already, Ed? We haven't even had the first date yet!" I laugh at my own joke and Ed joined in after a few seconds of looking lost. "Nah, I've heard great things about Doctor Cullen. Listen, I should be going now," but I don't want to go. He let me finish buckling my seatbelt. I crank the car up and wave as I leave the parking lot to go home.

On the kitchen counter when I walk in is a sticky note. Thank you, Jasper. Send Michael our love.

My aunt and uncle should really pay more attention to their only child that likes to get drunk out of his mind and make bad decisions. I'm not surprised, they're both drinkers too. I shake my head, it's like they don't even care about us. Oh wait, they don't.

My skin is still tingling where Edward rubbed my arm. I rub the place on my arm trying to make it stop. It doesn't feel bad. For some reason, I am drawn to him. I don't understand it.

I decided to go for a walk in the woods that's around the house. I miss Texas, I miss the sunshine. I can count on both hands how many days a year that Forks sees the sun. I hate the dampness and the rain. I won't miss it when I leave this little town. I grab my raincoat and hat off the hook by the door. Yes, it's a cowboy hat.

I have a set walking trail that I walk. It helps me to relax. Something has my nerves wired. After my long walk in the woods, I go back inside and I read myself into a fitful sleep earlier than usual.

 _I am looking_ through _the trees as I run. I'm looking for something, but I don't know what. As I walk past the trees, the leaves on the branches fall to the ground. Then the branches start to fall. I can hear trees falling._

 _The faster I run, the more I can hear the sounds of destruction following me. I come to a stop. Everything is falling apart. I stop moving altogether._

 _Ed steps out of the trees in front of me. I want to run to him. I can hear the destruction getting closer. As the forest is damaged behind me, so am I._

 _Fire-like pain starts to spreads throughout my body. The fire starts in my fingers and toes. It spreads with every painstaking step. It starts to spreading painfully to my heart as I gain speed. I try slowing down to a jog to ease the overwhelming pain that is taking control of my limbs, but it's not helping._

 _"Jasper," Edward whispers my name but his voice is as loud as the screams that burst through the darkness. He stretches his hand toward me and the pain heightens. Strength flows out through my veins along with the liquid fire, making me feel weak. I try to ignore the pain as I run to Edward as leaves fall hitting my face._

 _He looks sad and shakes his head. "I was too late." He starts to walk away and my chest aches for him. I need him._

 _No matter how fast I go, or how much I push my body, I am still not able to catch up to him. I fall to my knees and cry out to Edward as he walks further and further away until he is totally out of sight. I fall to my knees as the pain escalates with Ed's disappearance._

 _Suddenly, the dead trees around me are being knocked down with loud thumps. The sound doesn't stop and I scream louder and louder, and louder…._

"Dammit it, get up, boy!" I sit up quickly, bump my head on something, and fall back down to my fluffy pillow. Looking up, I see my uncle above me holding his forehead and my aunt in the doorway. They are both in their pajamas which makes me look out my window to see that it is, in fact, still nighttime.

"I-I'm sorry, Uncle," I stutter. My forehead starts to ache and my voice is hoarse. I guess I was screaming in my sleep again. I really can't help the screaming, but my uncle doesn't care about that.

"Shit, kid. If you can't get this under control, I'm going to buy you a dog house for you to sleep outside. Hell, maybe you'll do better going back into the system. I'm sure they can whip your ass back into shape. Too bad about that other late uncle on your dad's side, I'm sure he would have loved to have you back. Maybe he wasn't—"

"Honey," my aunt interrupts, "that's enough." She still gives me a disappointed look despite her helpfulness. She turns and walks out of the room without another word, her nightgown swaying behind her.

My uncle isn't yet done with me yet. He grabs my bare shoulders since I don't wear shirts to bed. His grip is tight and would hurt any normal person, but I am no normal person. The only thing that can hurt me anymore is my own memories. Everything else that could have hurt me is now dead.

"Jasper, you are wearing down the last of my patience. Keep in mind that you are only here because you are the son of my wife's dead sister." I flinch at the word dead. My uncle takes no notice and keeps talking. "I don't want to be woken up again! So make sure that it doesn't happen or else next thing you know, you'll be six feet in the ground." He pushed me hard. I fell back into my uncomfortable bed. Hitting my head on the headboard.

Out of the room he walks. He takes one last disgusted look at me and slams the bedroom door behind him.

Mike would have woken me immediately and I wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble. Knowing that I am not going to be able to go back to bed in this state, I climb through my open window and onto the roof. I lay on my back on the shingles and cross my arms behind my head. This is one of my favorite ways to relax. I can just look at the stars and not think while time passes. One thought disturbs my overactive mind as I lay there.

I don't remember opening my window before I went to bed.

"Hi, Jasper. I'm Emmett, Eddie's favorite brother, and this is my beautiful girlfriend, Rosalie." I jump in my seat at the sudden intrusion of privacy and look up at the couple.

I don't know how I hadn't noticed them before in my Spanish class. Granted, they sit in the back of the class where they aren't as easily spotted. Emmett leaned over me. I was sitting in my chair when he did that and my first instinct was to straighten up in my seat. The blonde goddess, Rosalie, is behind Emmett. She is holding his hand as she looked at me intently.

"You probably remember us from that party and I came to your practice that one time. Rosalie just wanted to come up and say hi." Emmett continued with a loving look at his girlfriend. I raised a single eyebrow and look at Rosalie in surprise. She always looks so lethal. She always feels so angry. There is a good bit of vanity rolled up in there too. That screams to me that she has issues. Yet, with her standing in front of me, she seems almost accepting of me. Then I recognize it, a kindred spirit

"I'm sorry about Edward. He is annoying." Rosalie sounds really genuine in her apology for Ed. "For a long time, it was just me and him. I know him a little too well, sometimes." I bet those two fight like cats and dogs behind closed doors. I bet it's a strange love-hate relationship those two have.

I shoot her a small smile. There is something about her. I feel a kinship. "Oh, he's alright. Can be kinda weird and moody at times, but he's alright."

"If you say so. Just remember, if you ever need someone to beat him up for you, I'll make Emmett do it. Don't worry about roping Emmett into, he is always up for a fight."

What is it with these Cullens and their nicknames?

We both look at Emmett for confirmation. He eagerly nodded his head. I chuckle and the bell goes off so the couple goes back to their table in the back and I look back at the people around my table.

My team is looking at me, astonished. I'm confused by their behavior and I questioned them about it later in class. They all looked at each other with furtive looks before Tyler answered me hesitantly.

"Would've thought you'd notice by now, Jasper. The Cullens haven't spoken to anybody but themselves, the teachers, and you. We just can't figure out why you're the chosen one." I shrugged and pulled out a smirk.

"They just can't resist this face." Tyler shoves my arm and laughs loudly. Bringing the attention of the whole class down on our heads, including the teacher. We lower our heads at Señora Roof's glare but a small smile stays on my face.

Emmett and Rosalie are the first ones out of the room once the bell rings and don't wait up for me. Not that I wanted them to.

Ed is in his normal spot by my locker. Today he is wearing some new designer jeans that don't belong in this town due to their price, and a plain dark purple shirt. This might seem girly on any other dude, but Ed pulled the look off with confidence. He smiles at me as I approach. I give a half smile back.

"What's up?" I said, making small talk.

"Oh, nothing." He runs his fingers through his flyaway hair. Must be a nervous habit. "Alice is just getting on my last nerves, she is getting the house ready for you to come on Monday. She just won't stop moving around the house. She's like a mini tornado." I can picture her like this. I try to choke back a laugh and fail. I see his face light up at my laughter. It really doesn't take much for me to make Ed smile. I like it.

"Well then, I'll be sure to thank her. She really doesn't need to go all tornado for me, I thought we were just hanging out anyway, I won't be there for too long."

Ed's face drops for just a second. If it wasn't for that strange sixth sense of mine I wouldn't have noticed. What was she going all out for, I was just coming over to stay a day or two?

"Alice wants to go to college for interior design. Well, Esme has an extra guest room. Apparently white walls and a gray comforter wasn't good enough. She will be thrilled if you like all that she's set up for you." Why was she going through all this trouble for me? "Don't worry Cowboy, you'll like it, she that good." I hadn't realized that we'd made it to the classroom. I guess I was too into the conversation to take much notice on where I was going.

That's not safe. I look around, the halls are devoid of teenagers. Save for him and I. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are late for class. Edward doesn't seem to notice that we are all alone in the hallway. We will probably get detention if Ms. Owens has a particularly large stick up her ass this morning. More so than usual, that is. Ed opened the door and every head turned our way. I try to slip by him with my head down, trying not to get into trouble.

"Ahem, boys." Ms. Owens pulls my attention to her. "You. Are. Late." She raises one drawn on eyebrow and I cringe at the expression on her face. I open my mouth to say some bullshit about the librarian holding us hostage, but Ed beats me to the punchline.

"I am afraid that I was distracted," his voice is silky smooth as he said this. "In the hallway and did not notice the time," Ed reaches for her hand and kisses her knuckles. "I am so sorry, Janice." My jaw, along with the rest of the class, was on the floor.

Ms. Owens blushes twenty different shades and rubs the back of her neck with her other hand. "Oh, it's f-fine, Mr. Cullen. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. G-go on back to your s-seats." She was so entranced by Ed that she was stuttering, wow. Ed shoots her an award-winning smile that could rip the panties off any young lady and walked to his seat and I follow to mine.

"Holy shit, dude. What the hell was that?" I whisper to him after a few minutes.

"That is called getting out of detention. All you have to do is….be me." Ed winked then his eyes dart up to the front of the classroom, but I know that he is still paying attention to me.

"I can't believe you used her first name. I didn't even know her first name is Janice. My Ma would have whipped my ass if I called an older lady by her first name." I am in awe of the man before me, I'm sure that if I were to try to pull that off that it would not go quite as smoothly as it did just now.

"Not everybody can be as cool as I am, Cowboy." Smug asshole. I see him glance at me and then an arch and a single eyebrow. And he knew it. I see one side of his perfect lips turn up in a half smile.

Near the end of class, Ms. Owens tells us about the reading out loud session next week and the class groans in unison. "Oh, hush up. We will do it next week. Wuthering Heights is the name of the book and after we finish it next week, we'll be able to talk about it all through the first and second term of the year. Make sure to pay attention because you will be doing many project and essays on different themes and characters with your table partners, and there will be no slacking!" The bell rings and I try to slide past Ms. Owens's desk.

"Jasper, will you stay a moment?" Though it was phrased as a question, there was definitely no choice in the matter.

I turn around tensely and stare at her. Ed walked past me and then looks at me curiously. He then bumps my shoulder kindly as he walks out the door. I've noticed that he doesn't actually walk out the door, or anywhere for that matter, but instead struts everywhere he goes like the ground is his own runway. A loud cough brings me back to reality and I look back to Ms. Owens, no doubt my ears are pink in embarrassment.

"Mr. Whitlock, if I had to guess, I would say that you are not looking forward to next week, am I correct?" Wow, she's an observant one. What next, my hair is blonde? I nod.

She sits down heavily in her chair and looks me right in the eyes after flipping her hair. "We both know that you have some….troubles that we need to take a look at. I think that I can help you in that area….among others as well." She bites her lip and looks at me from under her lashes and I cringe on the inside but smirk dashingly on the outside. I layer my accent on thick.

"Well, ma'am. I do indeed have it all under control and am workin' really hard to overcome this weakness of mine, but I do appreciate your offer. Maybe if you could avoid callin' on me…." I wink at her and she giggles in response.

"I'll see what I can do," Ms. Owens said, doing a horrible impression of my own accent. Yet, I smile none the less.

"And that is all I can ask of you." She licks her lips and raises her eyebrows. "Goodbye, ma'am." I open the door and leave. The door knocked into somebody in the hallway as I was heading out.

I found Ed leaning against the wall near the classroom door. He must have been waiting for me. Was he listening to our conversation? I start to get mad and tense my arms, but I come to my senses. Was he eavesdropping?

He looks up at me meekly. "Hey, Cowboy. I was just, uh, waiting for you out here….so we can go to lunch together."

I roll my eyes. "Let me guess, and while you were waiting, you just so happened to overhear the conversation that I was having in private? Come up with a better excuse next time, asshole." I push past him, seriously pissed off that he would do that. I really don't want my new friend finding out that I am less competent than any kid in this high school. I could lose Ed that way. I really don't want Ed to step out of my life.

"Wait! Let me explain." He rushed to my side, moving a little to fast. I file that away for later. Glad to know it wasn't the drugs. Something about the way he moved reminded me of something. I just couldn't remember.

He put both of his hands on my shoulders and looks up at me. I'm a few inches taller and I am broader than him. His gaze pleads with me to understand. "I really was waiting for you….at first. Then when you didn't come out for a while, I started listening because I was bored. I swear I didn't hear much." Ed puts on a good show, but I can detect the lie at the end. He heard every word. He was trying to make me feel better. With a huff, I calm myself down.

I took a few deep breaths and close my eyes. When I open them again, Ed is staring at me with an expression I can't place. "The only way I got out it was with flirting, don't speak of this again." He nodded quickly and we keep walking to the cafeteria. The air around us feeling lighter.

Maybe Ed can help me as a tutor. No, that is a silly thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The plot belongs EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's. There is abuse in this chapter so if you are uncomfortable….Please stop reading.

JPOV

I took a few deep breaths and close my eyes. When I open them again, Ed is staring at me with an expression I can't place. "The only way I got out it was with flirting, don't speak of this again." He nodded quickly and we keep walking to the cafeteria. The air around us feeling lighter.

Maybe Ed can help me as a tutor. No, that is a silly thought.

"Hey Cowboy, would you like to sit with me?" He seemed a little nervous when he asked me. I looked over at the table he was heading to. Emmett was throwing a piece of pizza at Vee. Alice was sitting and braiding Rosalie's hair. Leaving Rosalie to glare at any unlucky person who happens to pass by her.

"As much fun as that sounds….No thanks. Maybe another time." He doesn't show it, but I can tell that it made Ed feel a little down. Sorry, but I knew girls like Alice. I wasn't sacrificing my hair for Alice's pleasure. My hair brushes my shoulders and I am sure that little pixie would make something up like, "Ooh, it's just the perfect length."

Yeah, no way in hell I'm doing that. Maybe he could sit with me. I quickly dismiss the idea. Edward was too shy...on somethings. I knew better. He could be more bash when he needed to be.

I guess when Mike found Jessica, I went looking for another best friend.

We fist bump, then head our separate ways. Mike was beckoning me with a waving hand. I hurry over, stealing a pizza slice off Ben's plate and a soda from one of the freshman.

"You'll never believe it, Jasper. We have the whole plan from the Rangers, the team we are playing against the Saturday after next. Yesterday, some of the boys and I went over to their school and… uh, convinced…. some of the freshies at the school to go and take some notes on the plays they are running and then they sent them to us."

I opened my mouth to say that I doubt that is their actual play. Mike knows me all too well and beats me to the punchline. "I know what you're gonna say, man. Oh, but Mikey, what if they were just lying to you? They could have made it up. Trust me here. After a few thinly veiled threats thrown their way, there is no way that they are gonna risk their limbs for a silly football game.

I still had my doubts. Everybody snickered and I joined in. I was already making contingency plans in the back of my head. Maybe even ways to use it against them. Just in case. I was already quite sure that we are going to win this upcoming game. Now, I don't have a shadow of a doubt that I would put money on this game if it wasn't for the gambling incident of 2012 when it was outlawed in Forks High.

Still hungry, I go up to the lunch line. Pulling my wallet out of my back pocket, I was planning on paying for another three slices of pepperoni pizza. I felt a hard tug on the back of my shirt.

"Bend down!" I heard a high voice squeak. I turned around to see that it was the Alice girl. She was trying to reach for my hair. Thank god, she's too short to reach.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she jumped with her arms high in the air. I set down my pizza on the counter. I was just in time to grab her wrists and secured them at her side. She was strong like Edward and cold to the touch like him.

They all can't have the same disorders and not be kin by blood. Well, no, it was possible. Maybe Dr. Cullen collected children with a certain kind of disorder. Like he on a mission or something. She had a frustrated look on her face and her nose was scrunched up adorably as she glared at me.

"What's it look like? I want to play with your hair, but you are too tall so you need to bend down for me. Ooh, it's just the perfect length." Dammit, I just knew that would happen. Did I not just predict the future here?

It's really not that I don't want her to play with it, which I don't. It's that I'm afraid she'll get a little too excited and start tugging really hard. My Ma used to love to play with my hair when I was a boy since she had no little girl play with. Sometimes she would get too excited about all the things she could do with my hair. More than once she had accidentally ripped out a patch of my hair.

I let go of her hands and finished paying. Just as I go to sit back at my table, she linked both of her little arms through one of mine. She started pulling me over to the Cullen's table. She almost made me drop my pizza with her incessant tugging.

"Whoa, there, lass. Go a little easy me, you're stronger than I think you realize." Alice paid me no heed and kept on jerking my arm until she is close enough to push me into a seat between her and Rosalie.

"Hi, Jazz." Rosalie felt strangely happy when I sat down. She didn't show it, but I could feel it. She crinkled her nose at my food and then she asked me something. "Are you really going to eat that? It smells so bad, and it looks so greasy." I laugh at the nonsense coming out of her mouth.

"It smells delicious to me, and the grease is how you oil these guns." I flex my arms and everyone at the table laugh simultaneously. Emmett laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the whole cafeteria.

"Wow, I like this guy. Eddie here sure knows how to pick his friends." My ears turn pink from all of the people staring. The Cullens must be bigger outsiders than I realized. I decided to question them on it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice bite her bottom lip really hard after that thought passed my mind.

"Yeah, I'm a pretty awesome friend. If I do say so myself. Who else are y'all's friends? I never you guys talk to anybody but me and yourselves." This makes them uncomfortable. I'm not letting them off the hook. I really want to know why I am so special.

"Well, um," Vee mumbled at first. Then a little louder, he said. "No, if it wasn't for Edward, we wouldn't be talking to you. I guess we just haven't found anybody else who we like enough to call a friend?" He said it like a question. Then he looked around the table to see if his siblings agree with his statement. Which they do. I can tell by their nodding. "You are Edward's friend so you are our friend."

Something about Vee just never sat right with me. He always seems to be the one trying to talk for the group. But I noticed that Rosalie and Emmett would always look towards Edward before they say or do something. There was a division line in the group.

That little question had sent the stress levels through the roof. Everybody was so full of tension that I could practically feel it in the atmosphere.

The bell rings and I can't help but think of the saying, saved by the bell. I chuckle at my own joke as I get up to throw away my empty tray.

"What are you laughing at?" I hear from Rosalie as she came up next to me. She bumped my hip with hers. I shake my head and don't answer. She might find the answer rude if she knew. I don't want to get on the Ice Queen's bad side.

She is holding her tray in her left hand while mine is in my right. The only difference between the trays is that her's is still full. In fact, not one thing on her tray even looked like it had even been touched. I sit my mine down in the holder and before she throws all of her food in the trash, I pull off a chicken tender and turn to her.

"You should really eat something for lunch, Rosalie. Anorexia is not something that I take lightly. Neither should you. You are perfect and really don't need to be any skinnier than you already are. Please eat this." I offered her the chicken and her nose scrunched up.

"I am not anorexic. I will not eat that breaded chicken. I like animals." She tried to turn away, but I grab her arm.

"Please, just eat one bite." I really don't want my new friend to suffer from a problem that she was inflicting on herself. I won't stand to see her rot away without the proper nutrition. I know that it's not really my business to start with, but I'm going to make it my business. She needed help.

Rose pursed her lips together and nodded slightly. She opened her mouth and I stick it in. Rose chewed slowly and it looked painful as she swallowed it down. I shove the rest of the tender in my own mouth and finish it in record time.

"See, it wasn't that bad." I think I may have heard her saying along the lines of, "maybe not for you." I'm not too sure that I heard her correctly so I ignore it.

I head off to biology for another boring class where I just talk to my friends for an hour. The plans Mike got us are really going to help us win the first game. Be it nice and easy breezy. Maybe with a little luck, the other team won't know what's going on. Then we can use the same tactics the next time that we play them.

Of course, I don't really expect them to use a plan that doesn't work. I mean, come on. They beat our mathlete team every year. Granted, I'm not on that team. So I don't really know.

"Jazz, come here man," Emmett called out to me. I walk over to him and he shrugs his muscular arm over my shoulder. He pushed down slightly so that it hurt a little bit. He bends his neck so our faces are just a few inches away. "I'm sure that I don't need to tell you this, but Rosie is mine and mine alone. Don't you go flirting with my woman or else we are going to have some problems. She knows what she's doing so don't be getting on her ass about eating or anything. As a matter of fact, don't be getting on her ass at all, that ass is all mine, and speaking of." Rose struts up to us and Em shoves me out of the way while he kisses her passionately, grabbing her butt and squeezing hard. All I could do is look away.

I really didn't mean to be flirting with her. For some reason, I'm not interested in Rose. She's more of a sister figure than anything. No doubt she is the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my entire life. But I know another man's boundaries and I don't want to be pushing Em or ever get on his bad side.

Biology was more boring than watching paint dry. I could've slept. I have slept through the class and missed absolutely nothing.

Mr. Banner was just talking about his divorce again. Like how his ex-wife took his cat and he now cries for them every day. Okay, maybe he didn't say that exactly, but that's what I got out of it.

The government class was almost as bad. I had taken government the year before. I had failed it and now I had to take it again. Meaning everything was just going to be repeated again. The good thing was I now have heard it twice. Which means I'll have a better chance of remembering it. The bad thing is, it will be just as dull as last year. I did find out that Alice was in my class.

What is it with the Cullens and blending in the walls in the back of the classrooms? As I sat there, bored out of my mind, I looked out the large windows and saw Edward walking to his car. As if he could feel my eyes on him, he turned around and waved at me. That was the highlight of the class. If that doesn't say how boring it is, then I don't know what would.

"Hey, sit with me today, Cowboy." Edward and I walk side by side into the flex classroom for the study hall in place of P.E.

"Um, I'm not too sure I should. Usually, the guys need help with homework or something." That was a total flat out lie. Almost all of my buds are in higher classes than me. Even if I were in their class, I probably couldn't help them anyway. Unless it was math. Honestly, I am just kind of worried about what they will think of me if I start to drift from the group. It's not like I'm really ditching them. I just happen to have friends outside of the group. Yeah, all of them have friends outside of football. I'm just going to go sit with mine.

"Oh, come on, Cowboy. I'm sure that I'm more fun than those pigskin chasing losers you're hanging out with. I bet I could beat every one of them up." I laugh as he playfully flexes his arms. My eyes linger on his biceps. _Nice._

Of course, he said this in a joking manner. I didn't think he would call my friends losers and mean it, nor could he possibly beat up the whole football team.

"Oh fine, but know this. It's not your words that persuaded me, it's those hunky muscles of yours." Whoa, where did that come from? I was mortified on the inside. I gave a nervous laugh and put on a strong face. Thank god he was laughing with me. Seriously, where did that come from?

We walk over to a table near the front of the room and sat down. We spread all of our school work out on the table. I have a lot more homework to do than Ed does. Lately, Mike hasn't been home to help me out. The table has an overabundance stuff with all of the papers I put on top of it. I saw Ed's eyebrows rise briefly when he saw the load.

"Wow, Cowboy. Are you a hoarder in denial or something?" I can't help but rub the back of my neck. I am somewhat abashed.

"Well, I just haven't done anything yet." I drop my voice to a whisper. "I need help doing most of this stuff, and I can't find anybody…." I trail off. Ed shakes his head with a smile. "Please, I need help. Please don't tell anyone." He gave a quiet chuckle and pulled up a chair.

"I'll help you out, don't worry about that. That's what friends are for," he said. "Let's try to make a dent in this and maybe we can finish the rest some other time. What is it that you need the most help on?"

I pretend to think about it. "Well, the only class that I actually can do is math, so pretty much everything else." Saying it out loud made me feel really ashamed of myself. It's the only the first week of school and now I am already falling behind all of my classmates. It so early in the year. "It's not that I can't do it. It's that I need to hear it for me to understand it. I guess that means I'm an auditory learner or something like that, right?"

Ed looked me straight in the eyes. He stared intently at me before writing something on a post-it note and slid it in front of me. I look down at the note and back up at him, my gaze questioning him.

"Jasper, just tell me what's on the note." He is talking very softly, "please." Wow, I haven't heard him call me anything but Cowboy when we were alone. In fact, he only calls me by my real name whenever his family is around, does he not want them to know too much about our friendship or is it something else? I laugh nervously.

"What is up with you today, Ed? You wrote the note, you can read it yourself." Briefly, I glance at the note. None of the letters were in the right place. I could puzzle it out, but it would take a little while.

"No, Jasper. I want you to read the note aloud to me." Now he is just starting to piss me off.

"I don't take orders from anybody, Edward. Don't tell me what to do." I said in an angry whisper. I stood up and shove all of my papers back into my backpack before walking right out of the classroom, not worried at all about the teacher.

Coach Clapp is in charge of the study hall and he needed me too much on the football team. He wouldn't dare report me and possibly have me cut from the team. I head to the gym to blow off some steam. The poor guy who has to defend me today in practice is going to get one hell of a beating. I'm not holding back today.

I got a soccer ball out and started kicking it as hard as I could against the gym's walls. I stop when I heard the chiming of the bell dismissing us for the day. I leave to head to my locker and saw Mike leaning against it. If he knew what was best for him, he would get the hell out of my way. In typical Mike fashion, he is completely unobservant to the rampaging emotions that I'm sure are showing freely on my face.

"Hey man, do you think you can grab me some boxers and bring them to me tomorrow? I'd use Jessica's brother's, but that's just nasty with a capital N." I ignore him and jerk open my locker, stuffing in my books haphazardly. "Hey, what's up with you? Listen to me for once, would ya?"

"If you want your panties then you can go to your house and get them yourself. Piss off." I walk past him out the front door of the building, knocking his shoulder roughly with my own.

I see Edward leaning against my car and it feels like my anger has been set on fire. Then a hand grabs my shoulder and jerks me around.

"Don't fucking talk to me like that, Jasper. I haven't done anything to you." My face must show that bewilderment that I feel. I know that I am going to regret this in the future, but right now my head isn't what's controlling my mouth.

"Haven't done anything to me? What about how you left me at the house with your parents. They hate me! Then you want to make me your bitch by bringing you all your shit. Not even thinking about how the hell I'm supposed to do my school work without you around? All the while you are hanging out with your slut of a girlfriend."

Wham! I feel his punch before it registers in my mind that he wound back his arm and hit me as hard as he could. I raise my hand up to my bloody cheek and stare down at my fingers as the red goo slides freely down them.

After all of the abuse that I've been through, I don't know whether to call Mike brave or stupid for hitting me. Seeing the expression on his face I know he just realized what he's done.

I am past the point reason and he is clearly re-thinking his action. I drop my backpack to the ground beside me and step toward him. I roll up my sleeves as I slowly walk towards him. Mike took a step back, then he tried to talk his way out of his ass whopping. It is way too late for that.

"Jasper, I swear I didn't mean to punch you. But that doesn't mean you can just say stuff about my girlfriend like that and expect me not to do anything." He looked at me pleadingly as I keep on slowly walking towards him. His words are not registering in my head.

Teenagers are starting to circle around us. Some are even exchanging money with each other. "You can't really blame me for wanting to get out of my parents' house, wouldn't you. If you could?" He just narrowly missed my first swing by barely an inch. "Also, I asked you to get me some stuff. You could have just said no if you felt so strongly about helping a cousin out." Swing and a hit. My fist connected with Mike's side and he lands hard on the ground breathing shallowly.

"Mikey!" I heard someone yelling in the crowd. The voice is high and frantic. It is quickly drowned out by the hollering of the other students that are surrounding us.

I kick him hard in the stomach. Some distant part of me knows that if I hit him in the head, it could leave some lasting damage. I have enough sense not to go that crazy. I heard a crack as my foot gives another strike. Before I can go in for another, two cold hands grab me from behind. The hold is like a cold iron shackle with a grip I can't break.

Teachers are starting to pour in around us. I see Coach Clapp helping Mike up off the ground. Distantly I can hear an ambulance rolling up in the parking lot as they do.

"Fuck you, Jasper. It's not my fault that you can't fucking read." Mike said as he was loaded onto a stretcher and rolled away. The cold hands still do not let go of me. Breathing is hard. I try hard to only think about each breath. I breathed in then I let it out slowly. I am trying to regain my composure. Eventually, I shake them off and look back at my captor. Ed.

"Hey, Cowboy," he says softly, almost caring. "Let me take you to the nurse's office." I look down at myself to assess the damages. My ankle hurts from kicking him. My face is a bloody mess. I notice my hands are too from having touched my face and slugging Mike. My poor knuckles are busted. I can't feel too bad for myself, Mike got the bad end of the stick anyway.

Ed weaves his arm underneath my armpit and aids me in limping to the nurse's office. I'm in a daze as I walk there, so much so that I forget that I'm mad at Ed. I look up at his face as we walk. His eyes are pitch black, what happened to the unique butterscotch eyes that I saw this morning. He has his nose all scrunched up and he is holding his breath. None of the other Cullens are anywhere in sight. The eyes, I had seen that kind of eyes before.

Well, that's odd. I would've thought that they'd want to see if Ed was okay.

We walked into the office to find the nurse sitting in a chair. She was reading some magazine. When she looked up to see who was coming, her eyes widen at the amount of blood coming off of me. She hurried me over the bed covered in paper.

"Oh, my!" she exclaims. "What have you gotten yourself into, young man? Is there anybody else who is hurt?"

Thank you. Everyone, this ends the original chapters. Go ahead and review. Good or bad, all are welcome.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The plot belongs EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's. There is abuse in this chapter so if you are uncomfortable….Please stop reading. Proofreading by Strongwolfprincess

JPOV

Fortunately, none of Mike's ribs were broken. Mostly bruised. Someone like me can do a lot of damage in a pair of cowboy boots.

Somehow, Edward had sprung me from the nurses' office. The last bell had rung for the day already. Mike had taken his own car and left. At least it was still a fair bet he would go back Jessica's house.

Edward filled me in on a few details later as we left the school parking lot. Mike didn't go to the hospital. The EMT that pulled up in the parking lot had cleaned Mike's cuts and bruises and then sent him on his way. I was relieved. I still considered him my closest friend.

I knew Mike didn't want to go home and explain why were both suspended for the next two days. His dad would probably beat the holy living shit out of both of us for this when he did find out. That would be all Mike had to worry about. I, on the other hand, would be homeless. Very quickly.

Now I find myself speeding down the road with Ed the speed demon. He barely slowed down to turn down a long gravel driveway.

"No matter what, stay in the car." That was all I heard as he jumped out of the car. Slamming the door as he hurried to the front door. Damn, he could run fast.

Not two second later he was hauling ass out the front door. He was holding what looked like an ancient black leather doctor's bag.

I didn't say anything as he got back in the car. He wasn't talking either. Then we were off again. He spent a few minutes just driving aimlessly before coming to a stop at a dead end road.

Ed turned in the seat. His eyes were studying me. I watched his eyes change from a beautiful liquid gold to a depthless obsidian. They reminded me of Uncle James's girlfriend. Her eyes would do that sometime. She was also cold to the touch. She used to like to reach out and stroke my cheeks. She thought I was cute.

Edward didn't creep me out like she did (as bad). He still had his moments. His eyes were a different color too. Vicky's eyes were more of a ruby to a rusty brown color.

He broke eye contact. Then gracefully reached into the backseat and got the black bag. He pulled out something that looked like a 2-inch cotton pad and doused it with something. Ed preceded to clean my cuts and scrapes. I ignored the burn of the alcohol as he cleaned me up.

We didn't talk, but it still was a comfortable silence. I had a thousand question for him. At this moment I didn't care. That was a lie, but I had other problems.

This little fighting stunt might have gotten both Mike and me kicked off the team. The Principle had made a point of coming to see both of us before we left school this afternoon.

Edward carefully put all the medical supplies away. Then, he placed the black bag in the backseat. I could tell he had something on his mind. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk.

Ed fiddled with the CD player instead. Even watching him move around the car was interesting. Even when he was motionless, it felt like he was still moving. It was hard to explain.

My brain was going a thousand miles an hour. I couldn't turn it off. I laid the seat back and watched the rain come down.

Edward finally decided on what he wanted to listen to. I was surprised. I was excepting pop rock, metal, or rap. No, this was old and bluesy. I didn't bother to listen to the singer, so I paid it no heed. The steel guitar was nice. I mildly enjoyed it. I closed my eyes and listened to the music and the rain blend together.

Nothing mattered anymore. I was living with another family that could care less about me. And there was a chance that as soon as they found out about the fight, I would be homeless. All this hinged on Mike and what he did next. There was a chance that tomorrow he would act like nothing had happened.

"How old are you." I liked the music that was playing. But it sang of a much older time.

"Seventeen," came an automatic answer. Then a wash of guilt. I forced my mind to remain blank just listening. Allowing myself to feel the atmosphere.

"No, seriously. How old are you?" Then there was a blind rush of panic. That came from Edward. What the hell? I had meant that last comment as a joke.

Ma called it a gift. Pa called me a jinx. I have always been able to feel out a room. I could feel what someone nearby was feeling. When given half a chance, I tried to be as charismatic as possible with the tools I was given.

Right now Ed's emotions were running a full gauntlet. A joke about his age had him ready to bolt. Those strange beautiful eyes that changed at strange times and actions. Anyone would love to spend time with a fine specimen like him. Women and men, I was willing to bet. He was too perfect for a normal human.

As a little boy, I use to swear that Vicky wasn't human. Was his skin as hard as hers?

Slowly, I sat up in the seat. He was turned in his seat with his back to the window so he was facing me. I felt like I was trapped in a car with a feral cat. He felt dangerous. At the same time, I still felt safe. I chalked it up to he was scared of something but didn't view me as a threat.

I slowly reached out with both hands. I took his left hand in mine and pulled it to me. Ed didn't put up a fight. I noticed that he wasn't breathing normally. H was using short shallow breaths. I could tell he was trying to get himself in check. I could still read him and he was calming down. He was in better control now.

No matter how upset Ed was, his hand was still steady. They were icy cold and hard like marble. Smooth too. Midway up his arm, I pressed down with both of my thumbs. I couldn't even make an indention. Muscle always has some give.

I moved my hand up his arm and then up his shoulder. He had quit breathing and his eye was almost closed. The fear was tangible enough that I could almost taste it. A small part of Ed was in enjoying it. Like the way, a cat liked to be petted. I wanted to touch more. To move my hand up his arm and to explore the rest of him.

I restrained myself. I needed answers, and this kept my mind off of the other events of the day. That was a clusterfuck, too. A bad one.

"What are you?" I felt his whole body tense up and go completely still. He was still afraid, but he was afraid for me now. I should be afraid for myself. I can not bring myself to be. I know he won't hurt me. I don't know how, but I know. "I know you won't hurt me. I'm not going to tell." I was showing my cards slowly. I didn't want him to run away.

"I won't run," he whispered. I hadn't said anything. "I can hear thoughts. Sometimes you are harder to hear. Some people are louder than others. You don't think in straight lines. It's quieter around you."

Can you hear me now? He nodded in response. Damn. You're not human, are you?

"I can't tell you. If this conversation goes much further, I will only be left with two choices. One is your death." I can tell he is thinking about the other alternative. A part of him is strangely hopeful, but he quickly buries it deep inside. "I'm not ready for this Cowboy. I want to, but I need to work some stuff out in my head."

"Ed, it's okay," I pulled my hands away from him and instantly missed the feel of his skin. I had liked the chill of his skin. I felt my skin starting warm up and to mentally restrain myself. I wanted to reach out and touch him again. I was hoping he didn't notice. I didn't understand the emotions churning in me.

"Tell me about Vicky," he asked gently. Now, it was my turn to want to run. The cold patter of rain outside the car was looking appealing.

"I can't talk about her," I said. I knew my thoughts betrayed me. I couldn't turn them off. Every rotten act of abuse flood the front of my mind.

I was eight when I moved in with my uncle James. Things were good, kinda, for about a week. Then my uncle got his check on payday. The man that came home that night, was mean, drunk, and wanted something.

He enjoyed hot sleazy women, but I found out his other secret. He enjoyed the soft touch of little boys. My stomach hurt from this and my head felt like it was reeling. I could feel the bile rising up in my throat.

One of Ed's cold hands came to rest on my knee. Grounding me for all those memories. I closed my eyes, refusing to let the tears slide out. I had promised myself I would never cry again.

When Vicky came home with my uncle one night, I thought I was safe for a little while. That's the problem with children. They are innocent and naive. Too trusting. No, she took the abuse to a whole new level.

Vicky introduced physical torture and blood play. She would cut me just so she could lick off the blood. This only excited my uncle more.

After he had met a brutal death, I was bounced around from one abusive foster family to the next. They never did find his body. I remember the EMTs and the cops telling me there was no way a human could lose that much blood and survive. I couldn't prove it, but I was sure Vicky was involved.

I cracked my eyes open. The sky outside was noticeably darker and it was still raining. Why was I surprised, it always rains in Forks. This far north it got darker quicker than Texas. I miss the feel of the hot sunshine on my face and the hot breeze blowing across the long sweet grass.

"Vicky was like me," Edward soft velvet voice shattered my reverie. I felt my inside grow cold. "I promise to never do the things that they did to you." He paused to gather a breath. "I am sorry for the injustice that was done to you. I wish I could take it back, but I can't. What's done is done. Another one of my kind will never hurt you again."

Gingerly I reached out my hand. If he was the same as Vicky...I place a hand over his heart. Nothing, still as the dead. Just like her. I wish I knew his secret. He would be forced to finish the job that Vicky started. I would have to die like my uncle did for knowing the secret. As if my day couldn't get any worse.

"You said there was two option?"

"It's still the kiss of death. To make you, like me." Ed's voice had become a whisper. This was worst than pulling teeth. I could feel the sorrow rolling off him.

"What is going to happen to me, Ed?" This was just another thing to pile up on me. Might as well lay the whole deck of cards out and see what there was to play.

"I have to talk to someone. I have to be careful what I say. If I say too much, I can endanger my whole coven." Shit, that was the last thing I wanted to do. Coven, were they some kind of witches? That would explain how he could read my mind. "Personally, I'm not that worry about it right this moment. Oh, by the way, you are way off base."

"Why is that." My head was starting to hurt. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I was feeling so scattered brained I couldn't put them together in my head.

"You don't to want to go home, do you?" I shook my head no. "Where do you want to go to tonight?" Good change of subject. Good question. One I didn't have an answer.

"Would it be too much trouble to take me out to First Beach. I think I want to camp out at the dunes tonight. Light a fire, do some thinking. I really need some time to think." His eyes were searching me for something. He felt torn and upset.

"That's on the Reservation isn't it?" Now he looked unhappy.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I can take you to the borderline. But that's as far as I can go." That was about a 30-minute walk. Not bad. Walking always eased my mind. "In the dark?" This mind-reading thing was annoying. "Sorry, I can't turn it off. I hear everybody. All the time." Well damn, that sucks. But in a strange way, I could understand. I had more in common with this strange beautiful boy then I thought. "Beautiful?" I gave him an exasperated look. Then I demanded that he start the car and head to the reservation. Shaking his head, he started the car and headed out. We both stayed quiet it for the remainder of the ride.

EPOV

Jasper had dozed off during the ride to the border. I couldn't cross the invisible line with him. I would just have to trust that he could take care of himself. He was already upset about all the stuff that happened today. He was worried about what was about to happen at his home. Then I put a few more things on his plate.

Mike was pissed when he drove off today. He was planning on heading straight over to Jessica's house. In his head, I saw how he was planning on working his frustration out. Using Jessica body of course. A perfect match made in hell. They deserved each other.

Honestly, I don't think Mike would say anything. Jessica was the wildcard. She was the controlling type. Tomorrow at school I would be able to get a better read on her.

When I got to the edge of the reservation, I pulled off the side of the road and turned my lights off. I didn't want him to leave the safety of my car, but I couldn't hold him against his will.

I let him doze. He hadn't been sleeping very well. I got the impression he had this problem a lot. Seeing his dream the other night had shaken me to my core. The mating bond was already talking to him subconsciously.

The pull would only get worse over time. I had only seen a hint of what had happened to him in his mind. My mate was wounded but he was still whole. I was proud of him. He was a survivor. He was strong.

It scared me to know he had come in contact with another vampire. I had the rest of my life to hunt down Vicky. I planned to take my time on making her suffer.

He had taken my mind-reading in stride and didn't freak out. That was something. And he confirmed what I had suspected before. He was gifted. An Empath. He knew I was something else and that didn't freak him out either.

"Oh, Jasper," I whispered too softly for his human ears to hear. "I wish I could take your pain away. I would take you away from all this. All you have to do is say the word. We can go anywhere." I reached out traced the hallows of his cheeks. Jasper instinctively followed my touch. He was just beginning to wake up, but he was aware me. I pulled back. The last thing I wanted to do was to creep him out, again. I had no idea what his sexual orientation was. I wanted him so bad it hurt sometimes. On the other hand, he seems to shy away from anything that had to do with sex. Tonight I had learned why. I still have so much to learn about him. He was the human version of an onion. Very layered.

He woke up after a few minutes later. He didn't say anything. He just gathered his jacket and cowboy hat and told me, thanks. Slowly he wandered his way out of the car and out into forbidden territory. It was painful to let him walk away.

I sat back in the driver's seat and watched him walk away from me.

JPOV

I liked the way the driftwood fires would turn green and blue as it burned. There was always some scattered around the beach. The rain had ended hours ago and the wind had died down.

Yes, I was worried about Mike's Dad, but that wasn't the only thing. If Mike went to Jessica's, then I had nothing to worry about.

Problem number two. The suspension could kill my fledgling chances of a football career. Our first game wasn't this Friday night, but next. So I wouldn't have to sit out. But being kicked off the team was a valid fear.

Problem number three. Edward. That could cost me my life. I didn't know what he was. He was really upset about Icky Vicky. I was too. She haunted my nightmare as much as my uncle did. Many of times together. What now?

Edward said the other alternative was the kiss of death. Death, but not death. For me to be like him. This idea had scared Ed. But something deep inside was excited about the idea. I didn't understand what he was feeling and I scare of the answer.

"Hey look what the Cat dragged in," I damn near jumped out of my skin. It was Jake.

"Damn dude. Put a bell on."

"Not my fault you weren't paying attention." Jake flopped down beside me. He looked happy. Then he wrinkled up his nose.

"What?" What the hell was his problem?

"Nothing, I think your cologne is a bit on the strong side, buddy." I wasn't wearing any but okay.

"What brings you out, don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Oh, nothing." I catch him sniffing the air a second time when he thought I wasn't looking. "The elder were having a bonfire and storytelling tonight. Quil's grandfather was the teller tonight."

I perked up immediately. The old man was good. "So tell, impart your tribal wisdom to me, Jake." He eyed me for a few seconds then slowly nodded his head. He was weighing something in his head. Debating.

"Look whatever I say next, you must never tell anyone I told you. Understand?" I frowned at him. This wasn't normal Jake behavior.

Over the summer Jake started acting weird and shot up to 6'7". His biceps alone were huge. Several boys on the Reservation were doing that too.

"Yeah. No problem." He eyed me strangely. He was dead serious. "I mean it, this secret stays right here Jake." His tribe had lots of stories. I had heard many of them since I started hanging out with him. Even ones that went as far back as the great flood. I loved to hear them. Even the strangest ones had a grain of truth. Maybe they would take my mind off of today.

"You have heard the story that my tribe is descended from wolves right?" I nodded. That was one of my favorites. "Then let me tell you the story of the Cold Ones." Oh, cool. I was happy for something to get my mind off of what was hanging over my head. "Tell no one you understand? I can get in a lot of trouble for telling you this." I quietly agreed and let him get started.

He wove a fantastic tale that left my head spinning at the end. Not one of us said anything for a for a few minutes after he was done. He acted like he was spinning a campsite story. Something to scare off the white kid. But the story had me thinking about Edward. He was cold, fast, and hard to the touch. I hadn't seen him in the sun, but I had seen Vicky. She glimmered just like the woman in Jake's story.

"Vampire," Jake whispered in my ear. I couldn't help but shiver. It made perfect sense. Way too much. "Legend has it that one family has a treaty with my tribe. They bite no humans and they stay off our land." That explained Edward not coming on to the Reservation.

"Family?" This was the first time I had spoke since he had started this. He gave me a long look. Again he was thinking it over in his head. I felt guilty that I knew something already and I hadn't told him. But I needed these answers. My head had a blade hanging over because of my past. If Edward had figured it out that quickly. Who else could?

Please Review. Sounding boards are always welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The plot belongs EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's. There is abuse in this chapter so if you are uncomfortable….Please stop reading. Proofreading by Strongwolfprincess

JPOV

Life on the reservation was different. It was more than a sense of family or community. They were a tribe. There was a special bond of responsibility.

The night had ended on a somber note last night. Jake clammed up on me and refused to talk. Later that night, after I had fallen asleep, he must have kicked sand over the campfire. Then he woke me up and dragged me off to he old V.W. car. I think it was an old Rabbit.

He told me that I was camping on his couch tonight, not the beach. In my stressed out sleepy state, I didn't put up a fight. I barely remember getting out of the car and through the front door. And I don't remember making it to the couch. But that was okay. This was Jake. He was different. I appreciated that.

The next morning I got woke up to the smell of bacon cooking. The one smell in the world that I would crawl across broken glass for. Apparently, Billy thought the same thing. I saw him making a beeline to the kitchen in his wheelchair. I was willy to believe he had the right idea.

I had slept in my jeans last night. On the floor next to the couch was my cowboy boots with my hat laying on top of them. I found my socks stuffed inside my boots. I put them on and left the boots and hat tuck around the side of the couch where no one could trip over them.

"Damn Jake, when'd you learn to cook?" Billy was pulled up to the table waiting for breakfast. I decided to make myself useful and go get plates, glasses, and silverware.

"Get the orange juice out of the 'fridge," Billy held his glass up. "Would you please kiddo. No, after his sisters left for college this summer, he figured out that food tasted better when it wasn't burnt."

"Sure thing sir." It was easy to want to do things for Billy. He was always so nice to me. He treated me the same as he did Jake. There always seemed to be a lot of big muscled teenage boys going in and out of Billy's house. All friends of Jake no doubt. I think Billy enjoyed having young teenage kids running around. He liked being a den father. Any other man I would have been very suspicious of. My up bring had taught me that.

"Chow time," Jake said with a lot of animation in his voice. He promptly dug in the second the food hit his plate.

I took two eggs and a handful of bacon. Billy did the same. Anything left was scarfed down by Jake on his second helping. No one said anything, we just ate in satisfying silence. We were men, there was no need to make small talk while eating.

Glancing at the clock I noted that Jake still had an hour before he had to leave for school. Last night I had told Jake what had happened at Forks High with Mike yesterday. He had asked about what had happened after that. I gave the short story. I had a friend drop me off. Then I walked the rest of the way to the beach.

Billy left after a little while, leaving me and Jake alone. After a few minutes, I looked up to see Jake watching me push what was left of the food on my plate.

"What eating at you Jasper?" I can't help but smirk, but I keep my eyes down on my plate.

"I think its time for me to tell you a new story about a Cold One." This made Jake set his fork down.

"I think you should leave the storytelling to me, Jasper." His tone was serious. He didn't like this. I could tell he wished I would drop this subject. I kept my voice low so Billy wouldn't overhear.

"When I was young, my uncle brought a woman home," I said as I pushed what was left of my eggs to one side of my plate. Just thinking about this was making my stomach turn. Jake and I had touched on this subject of Jame before. He knew of my past, just not the details. "I thought things would be better...I was wrong. The bitch got off on what James like to do to me."

I heard Jake make a growl in the back of his throat. It was very animalistic. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up. That was not a human sound. Descended from wolves, I reminded myself. I didn't want to know more secrets. So I pushed on without asking. Maybe one day. I had other secrets too. I didn't feel up to inviting more.

"Then she st-started playing with me. Not just touching and sexual things." A cold sweat was running down the back of my neck. I was trying not to get sick. "The first time, she pulled out a little silver knife and slashed the inside of my arm." I rolled up one of my sleeves. Jake had seen the many cuts before. The one other time I had shown him these cuts before. It had disturbed him very badly. He had asked if I was a cutter. I never gave him an answer. I just covered myself back up as quickly as I could. "She would cut me and lick the blood from my arm, legs, or whatever other body parts she wanted to taste. The cut would heal immediately. It burned like hell. Because of the venom." I moved to the chair next to Jake. "Give me your hand Jake." I took one of his fingers and run it over some of the slash marks. They were colder than the rest of my skin. Slightly raised and paled white like dead flesh. The sunlight that filtered in made the scares glitter unnaturally. "I believe everything you said last night. I need answers." My life was hinged on so many variables. I needed more than just answers.

"Dude," Jake pulled away from me quickly. I felt a twinge of panic from him. He looked around real fast to make sure no one was listening. "I broke the treaty!"

"I could be killed!" That got his attention.

"The Cullens wouldn't do that." Then he realized the slip. I felt very satisfied now. I leaned back in the chair and rolled my sleeve back down. I took a few seconds to study Jake.

He still had a half hour before he left for school. He was already dressed and ready to go. I was planning on walking back to Forks after this. I figured it would take the better part of the day. That was fine. I had nowhere to be today. I was a dead man anyway.

"Buddy, I have a death sentence hanging over my head. I already know too much. Maybe your tribe has some special immunity. I don't know. Last night after the fight, one of them took me somewhere. He cleaned my cuts and damn near gave me a full medical check-up in the front seat of his car. I cornered him about some of his strangeness."

"That explains what I am smelling. Hell, I can still smell him on you. Its the redhead, isn't it?"

"Smelling," I echoed his commit. Jake face gave a little, then a small smile graced his lips.

"Remember," he pointed at his chest. "I'm descended from wolves." Why the hell not? I am in this deep. What next? I lean back in the old wooden kitchen chair and closed my eyes.

"His kind has rules they must follow. Because of that bitch of my uncle's, I was exposed to his world. He wouldn't tell what he was. He said if I knew there was only two option that he would be left with. Death or the kiss of death."

"He can't!" Jake's fist slammed down on the table, making the old oak wood crack a little along the grain. "If he does either we will destroy his whole clan."

"This isn't Ed's fault and you know it. You told me. Not him. You broke the treaty. He refused to tell me because of that reason. He was worried about that Vicky bitch coming back to finish the job to cover her tracks. He said if he told me what he was, it would put his Coven in danger." Jake just sat there in shock, staring at the tabletop. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I realized what time it was. "You need to get going, Jake. It's time for school."

"Will you be here when I get back?"

"Yeah," I'm lying of course. I'm waiting for him to leave. Then, I'm out the door. I wasn't feeling like being that social. I had a few days to kill. I was a dead man anyway. The school didn't matter anymore.

Fuck it. Nothing mattered anymore.

EPOV

It was bad enough I had to involve Carlisle. I didn't want to endanger the rest of them. This whole situation was out of my hands before I had even found him. There was a chance the female vampire would hunt him down. Even if Jasper stayed quite. The last thing I wanted was for Jasper to be killed.

The only other one that knew about Jasper, was Alice. Right now she was being oddly quiet. She couldn't 'see' him right now, but she could see him later at school. A few days later. Safe and whole. She saw a few things later on. Nothing big, just a few weeks ahead. Winning game after game for his school. There were a few mundane things. What she did show me put me in a better place. It did give me some reassurance that he was have something of a normal life. Right now, I will take what I can get.

As much as I hated to say it, I know he is safe where the werewolves roam. They despised vampires. Their treaty forced them not to say anything. It wasn't much, but it was all I got.

It was too sunny to go to school today. That didn't mean anything to me. Jasper wasn't there. That meant I didn't want to be there. If this had been a Friday, the whole coven would have gone on a hunting trip. Probably somewhere near Canada.

Instead, it was Thursday. That meant we went out in smaller hunting parties. Carlisle and I were somewhere in the Cascades Mountain Range. I didn't find any large cats. I did settle for a bear and a deer. The bear was a little salty for my taste, but I didn't want to begone to long. The deer was just downright gamey.

 _It has been too long since it was just the two us out together,_ Carlisle thought. I had told him once when I talk to people I would hear what they were thinking right before they would say them. When I was first was turned, I had asked him not to talk out loud because it confused me. I remembered him smiling, nodding, and then thinking that it oddly made sense. _What is on your mind, Son?_

I held a single finger up, asking him to give me a few seconds. I wanted to make sure no one could overhear what was being said. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. I had about a three-mile radius. Carlisle and Alice, I could hear further than that.

"We're good," I open my eyes and nodded to him.

 _Now, what is going on? You have been acting peculiar. Since this current school year has started, you have been on edge._ When we had come to the edge of a ravine, he promptly sat down and let his feet dangle over the edge. He patted the ground next to himself, inviting me to join him. As a vampire, there was no need to sit. There was no need to rest. With Carlisle, it was different. He made me want to be better. To want to take the time to do small stuff.

"I have met someone." Carlisle went completely still. I had his attention.

"Who is it son," he spoke out loud. I must have really surprised him. In his head, he had already made the connection. "Is it Jasper?" I nodded my head slowly. Ther was the point of hiding it.

His mind was going a million miles an hour. Almost digitizing. Different contingency plans were playing across his mind. All of them ending with Jasper leaving with us in one form or another. Human or not, but eventually being changed. This was something that he wasn't detouring on.

"We have another problem," He merely paused and raised an eyebrow at me. "He already knows what we are. Kinda." Carlisle merely waved me on. He wanted to hear the rest. "His uncle, I suspect, was a playtoy for a female vampire. With very violent and bloody kinks." My father nodded, he wasn't surprised. Without going into details, he had a pretty good idea what that entailed. He knew better than me, just how cruel our kind could be. "And she liked to toy with Jasper too. Father, he has seen her in the daylight. He knows what we can do. He just doesn't know what we call ourselves."

Not yet. Granted, he has kept his mouth shut for this long. But the Volturi don't care about. This moves the timeline up. We have no choice but to-

"No," I had to stop this line of thinking now. "He's my mate. I need to be the one that talks to him. If he comes up missing right now the authorities will come looking for him. In this day and age, we have to be discreet. There have to be a few of loose ends as possible. Nothing that can be traced back to us. If we are going to do this, we need to do this right."

Yes, your right. Alice and you are my scouts and my rear guards. The two you are the security, the protectors of the coven. The two of you have always taken this role with the utmost efficiency. There is a reason this coven is the envy of most.

I nodded, listening to his thoughts. He trusted me to do the right thing as long as I didn't endanger the rest of the coven. I wasn't his only concern. This was my role. I was his first offspring. His kindness and temperament was the glue that kept our bond so tight. We still fought time to time. And good heavens, we have had a few very bad disagreements. We always came back to each other.

In vampire traditions, I was his heir. His firstborn. With a coven of this size, came a lot of responsibility. I had as much power as Esme, Carlisle's mate. Behind closed doors, I was the one that everyone came to gripe at. Many of times I played mediator, or if they needed something and was too afraid to say something. I had learned to say something early so nothing had time to fester.

I did my best to stay out of my family heads. It wasn't easy. By now they were use to it and ignored me. Most of the time.

I looked over at my father to see him smiling at me. Do you want me to talk to him or do you want to be the one? I turned to face him.

"He is my mate. I will talk to him." I could see his face and body language. I could tell he was proud of me.

About your bond too. I winced at that. I still hadn't figured out how to talk to him about this. With everything else, he did need to know that.

Some knowledge makes a man a fool. To little makes them dangerous. It is safer to provide a man with the best the tools for him to understand what he is up against. Mates must always be able to trust each other. I had to build that trust now before he becomes a newborn vampire and you have to start from scratch. And Carlisle was right.

" We need to go home, Carlisle." Standing up I politely held my hand out to him as a sign of respect. Standing up without my help, he took my hand and pulled me into a hug.

"I do believe you need a shower, there is matted blood all in your hair." The bear had put up more of a fight than I was expecting.

JPOV

It took over an hour to walk out of the Reservation. I used one of the back service roads. Honestly, I didn't care where I went after this.

I had two option. I could pretend that all this weird shit wasn't going on and head home. Take the ass whipping like a man and go to school Monday. That meant I would have to avoid Edward and his family. Just the thought of not talking to Ed made my stomach twist.

Option two. I could run away. Hope I find someplace where no one could find me. No. That was a bad idea. Every time I did that, someone always brought me back. I wasn't 18 yet.

Part of the road ran parallel to a small river. I was in need of a place to think. The sound of the river drew me in. The water was too cold to dip my feet in this time of year. It was the sound that made it seem so pleasant. It was someplace peaceful.

Peace, that was something that eluded me. Something I felt I would never have. I was pretty sure of.

Edward said I had two choices. Death or becoming like him. I have made it this far in life. I was too stubborn to run. I would not give into death. Would it really be that bad to be like Ed?

Edward was someone I was actually been attracted to. Sex was something that was always forced me. By men and women. Teachers, foster parents, older kids, bullies, strange men on the street that offered money in return: the list could go on.

With Edward, there was the offer of protection. Maybe even an out. It didn't feel right to use him like that. I wanted to know what I was to him. I wanted to know what he got out of this. Nobody did something for nothing. I knew right off the bat, I knew I would be a burden to his coven.

I needed to think about something else for a while. I let my mind wander. There was no mind-reading vampire here to catch all my stray thoughts. Especially if they were about him.

I never gave any thought about whether I was gay or straight. Those things didn't matter to me. It was sex I avoided like the plague. The thought of being touched in any matter like that made me want to throw up. With Edward, I didn't feel the need to pull away. I wanted to feel his touch. I craved it.

The sound of the small river was lulling. Making me sleepy. I eased back against the rocks to relax more. The lack of normal rain made the day feel warmer adding to the sleepiness. I drifted off not caring anymore.

 _Soft feather light touches made me lean into his touch. I craved his touch. Cold hands brushed the hair away from my face. Cold hard lips kissed the back of my neck gently tracing my hairline and ending at the small hollow behind my ear. Cold long nimble fingers ran through my hair. Another arm wrapped around me pulling back against a strong cold chest._

 _"You belong to me," the familiar voice whispered in my ear. Everything I was feeling was replaced with a bone-deep longing. I wanted to believe the familiar voice so badly. I felt teeth graze the bend of my neck. I shivered and let my head slipped to the side. I wanted this. "I will make you mine."_

 _Fire poured through every place he touched. It licking and burn its way across me-_

"Wake up, Jasper." Those familiar strong cold hands were encircling my waist. My head was resting on someone's shoulder. "Come on Cowboy. Time to wake up." I didn't want to wake up. I was tired of this life. I wanted out. "All in due time Cowboy," someone whispered.

Those strong cold hands were still holding me. I figured I was still dreaming. This was my dream I was going to enjoy it. One of my arms was pinned against his shoulder so I reached out with my other hand and touched his face. I then turned my head to kiss along his jawline. This dream was too perfect.

With my gift, I felt a sharp splash of surprise wash over me from someone else and I hear a loud gasp. That woke me up completely. I realized my hand was balled up into a fist and gripping his shirt.

His?

My sleepy eyes made their way up the face I had just kissed. It was Edward. He didn't seem mad or upset. His emotions were all over the place. I couldn't tell what he was feeling.

"Oh, dude, I'm so sorry." I tried to pull away but his strong hands kept me locked in place. He was eyeing me warily. I was waiting for him to freak or something. Then again I knew what he was and I wasn't freaking out.

"Say it, go ahead. I heard you. I want to hear you say it." Damn it he had heard me. The mind-reading thing was hard to get used to it. "I have gotten used to it over the years." Years, that was a whole another can of worms I didn't want to open. Not right now anyway. I bet you have.

"Vampire," I whispered. He stayed perfectly still. The only thing making noise was the water flowing by. Not even birds and animals were making a sound.

"I was hoping you were wrong," he said. I was hoping too. But this explained Vicky's need to cut me. "Cut?"

"Later." This was not something I wanted to get in to right now.

"Let me take you home Cowboy."

"Ha, I don't have a home." Now I saw him smile. "What?"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." He loosened his grip on me. "I drove past Jessica's this morning." Standing up he dusted himself off. He was wearing what looked like a matte black and gray motorcycle riding suit. "He hasn't gone home yet. He feels bad about what happened yesterday. Besides, he hit you first." He held his hand out to me to help me up.

"I'm fine," and I go to stand up. I forgot the rocks were so slippy. My boots start to slide out from under me. This was going to hurt.

Familiar cold arms grabbed me again. If Edward had been anyone else, I would have pulled them in with me. Ass over tea kettle.

"Are you okay?" My heartbeat was going 90 to nothing. I nod my head to answer him. The rock ledge I had crawled out on was small, narrow, and wet. I was lucky I didn't bust my ass to get down here. The ledge wasn't very big.

The two of us standing here was making it very crowded. His arms were still around my waist. I refused to give anything away in my thoughts. What I did a few minutes ago was bad enough.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Looking up, I realized how far down I had climbed to get to this little ledge. I had about seven feet of wet mossy rock to scale. Briefly, I wondered why I had thought this was a good idea to climb down here. I was picturing bruised and bloody hands after I climbed back up. Maybe my kneecaps too.

"Do you trust me," he asked. Strangely more than I should. I decided to keep that thought to myself. I noted a slightly crooked grin at the corner of his lips. I liked it.

"No." I wasn't going to tell him that I did.

"Good enough," and that was the only warning I got. I felt his stony muscles coil right before he jumped. He cleared the rock ledge easily and set me down feet first on the damp grass. He seemed reluctant to release me. "Come on, my bike isn't far. The rain will be starting again in a few hours. Besides. We have a lot to talk about."

"Didn't we do enough of that last night?" Ed let out a soft sigh and started to walk off in the direction of the old service road. He was walking at a human speed but he was still moving at a very fast pace.

I saw a beautifully painted silver motorcycle. Silver must be his favorite color. That was the color of his car. He parked it in the shade under an evergreen. I couldn't help myself. I think it's amusing to see a vampire putting on a helmet. He was the one creature in the world that didn't need it.

"No, there are others out there. We are all different in our own way." My thoughts flickered back to Jacob for a second. I saw Ed's mouth take a hard line. "You really are good at keeping secrets, aren't you? You're also good at figuring stuff out too. Too good."

Yeah, unfortunately, I have a mind-reader nosing around. I still have a few things I am trying to keep private. I know why I was harder for him to read. I feel more than I think. I know it sounds weird, but that is really how I am.

I can feel Edward's golden eyes prying into me intently. He was probably rampaging around in my head. I saw the hint of a smile before he slid the dark visor of the helmet down.

He tossed me a gray helmet and swung his leg over the seat. I put it on and climbed on the back. He handed me a clear mesh bag for my cowboy hat and I tied everything down.

There was nowhere else to hold on but his waist. Normally I didn't like to touch people, but Ed was different. I don't understand it. I learning to trust my feelings.

Well, I'm trying. I know he won't hurt me, not deliberately. I know he doesn't want to hurt me. Realistically random things can happen that is out of mine and his hands.

"Do you always think this much?" His voice was muffled from the helmet. Yeah, I do. It makes sleeping very hard. It's hard when you can't turn your brain off at night and go to sleep. That and the nightmares. Ed paused and turned to look at me again. "Remember, I made a promise Cowboy."

He kicked down on the kick start. The bike rumbled to life underneath us. Ed gave it a little gas and I felt his foot shifting gears as we pulled away.

It didn't take long to get to Jessica's. Pulling up in front of her house wasn't near as daunting as going back home right now. I saw the curtains shift as someone moved in one corner of the window. I bet it was Mike peeking out the window. Hoping no one noticed. I saw Ed give a slight nod. Okay, it was handy having a mind-reader around.

I noticed that Ed left his helmet on until he got under the eves of the front porch. He made a play at fiddling with the chin straps on his helmet. Then I realized why. It was sunny out today.

The motorcycle and the riding gear made more sense now. A valid excuse to have every inch of your body covered and protected from the sunlight.

Mike whipped the door open before I could get a chance to knock. He was leery and staying out of arms reach. Some of his bruises were swollen and puffy. They were starting to turn an angry mix of purple, blue, and black. He gave me a long hard look for a good 30 seconds. Then he glanced over at Ed and I saw Ed straighten his shoulders.

I was willing to bet it was because of something Mike was thinking. Ed leaned against the wall near the door stoop. H was trying to stay away from the edge of the sunlight. That made it so he had to stand closer to Mike. That made Mike edgy. I don't think he liked Ed. That really didn't bother me. Ed was my friend, not his.

"What do you want," Mike said. He was resigned. I think he was worried about another fight.

"Nothing, we're family Mike." My Pa used to say everything could be cured with a handshake and pleasant a word. I hope my old man was right. "I don't want to fight with you. You're the closest thing I have to a brother." He eyed me hard. He was trying figure out what I wanted. I wanted to project calm and understanding. I really did love him. He and his folks were all I had left of my so call family.

He didn't invite me in. That was fine. It wasn't Mike's house. I understood. We didn't come to a resolution on Jessica. I gave him credit, he was quiet while I talk to him about his girlfriend. He didn't agree with me, but I didn't see him coming to her defense either. I didn't want to see him become her puppet. She ran with girls like Lauren. That should have been a sign.

Mike and I were on talking terms again. Not surprising. About twice a year we get into a knockdown, drag-out fight. We were overdue.

Edward agreed to take me home. Mike offered to drive me home too. I had declined Mike's offer. We had made up. But things felt different now. And I know why. There a girl in the mix.

Personally, I hope she kept her legs together when Mike wasn't with her. My Pa would have called him 'smitten'. I would have to agree, but a girl like her has a bad reputation for getting around.

Edward had strapped his helmet on halfway through Mike and mine's conversation and headed out to the bike. He was trying to give me some semblance of privacy. I know he heard us anyways. I was willing to bet Ed could hear an ant fart.

As I was walking towards him, he tossed me the spare helmet and revved up the motor. He let it idle as I climbed on behind him.

He damn near took off at full speed the second I had arms around his waist. He leaned forward when the front wheel wanted to jump up. He was using his weight push it down. I didn't have any choice but to move with him. Feeling his back against my chest was making me feel things I had never willingly felt before. There was a lot of things he was making me feel.

Peer pressure dictates that I am a jock and not just any, but I was football player. Top of the high school food chain. That I could have my pick of cheerleaders or any pretty girl in the school.

My past said otherwise. I tried to keep the scares cover as best I can. My past said I was a throwaway foster kid. I am a ward of the state. At age 18, the tiny government check that Mike's folk got for keeping me would stop. At that point, if the foster family throws a kid out on the streets, oh well. If the former kid was still in school, then the kid had better make arrangements beforehand.

I don't know where Ed is going. Honestly, I didn't care. So much had changed in the past 24 hours. I'm not the wide eye innocent young teenager that I had been trying to portray. I hadn't been innocent since I was 8. I have had more dysfunctional sexual encounters by the time I was 12 than most had by 30.

Now with all the vampire activity, I had no idea if I should continue to push the football angle for scholarships. I really don't think this was something I wanted to think about. Not with Edward nearby.

I saw him glance over his shoulder briefly, then turn and look straight ahead. I felt the bike accelerate forcing me to tighten my hold on him. Maybe he was doing this a purpose.

If I thought he was fast in a car, I shouldn't have been surprised about the bike. The world was a blur to me. I tucked myself down behind him as best as possible, to knock the wind off of me. I was taller and wider than him so I caught more wind.

We came to a familiar dead end in the road. Maybe be it was a thinking spot for him.

Edward pulled his helmet off and combed his fingers through his fly-a-way hair. "You can let go now. I promise to stay still for a little while." He was grinning as he said this.

I found myself reluctant to peel my arms and hands away. Everything felt perfect. The tight riding suit left almost nothing to my imagination. I loosen my hold but I left my hands still touching him. I found myself wishing I didn't take my hands away.

Edward was holding very still. He could read my mind. I was waiting for him to show some kind of discomfort from my causal touching. What I did feel was curiosity and something else. He was trying to squash whatever he was feeling.

I let my hands drift. Just lightly touching. Running my fingers with feather light touches, I explore the dips and bends of his chest. I couldn't believe I was being this bold with him. He was holding very still. Barley breathing.

At first, his emotions were all over the place. Then he started focusing less on me and more what on I was doing. Want and need were becoming so strong it was affecting me. Making it hard to think straight.

Apart of me couldn't believe how bold I was being. He was the first person I had ever wanted. Everything about him was perfect. Hair, body, even the way he smelled. If this was living in sin, I wanted to be first in line.

My fingers found the top of his zipper on the riding jacket and began to pull it down. He had a snug white tee shirt underneath it. My fingers quickly slip under the edge of the hemline. His breath hitched a little when my warm hands graze the ice-cold skin of his stomach.

I took my feet off the back pegs and set them down on the firm pavement. I was a few inches taller than him and he fit perfectly against me. We matched like puzzle pieces. Ed shifted his weight to lean on me. I didn't think he realized that he was doing that.

I leaned my head forward and ran my nose down the hollow behind his ear. Shyly I kissed him there. I was gifted with a small moan.

"Please don't stop," he whispered. This made my dick twitch. I liked a begging Edward.

"Oh, you like that," I whispered in his ear. Just as shyly this time, I licked the someplace. He tasted incredible. I wanted him so bad it was hurting.

Ed was pretty enough to tempt the pope and nice enough to make the devil question himself. Everything about him made me want him. I found myself rubbing against him trying to find friction.

I sucked hard on his earlobe. His skin was too hard to bite. I wanted to mark him as mine so badly. I heard a low growl in the back of his throat. Sexy. The sound of him growling made me harder than I had ever been before. It was deliciously painful.

One of my hands drifted up. I lightly pinched one of his small hard nipples. At the same time, I let the other hand stray lower. I undid the snap at the top of his pants. The riding pants were to tight for me to get my hand down them. I settled for rubbing the outside of the pants. He bucked against my hand, trying to get more friction.

He was beyond coherent thoughts. I could feel everything he was feeling. I was drunk on a sexual high. I had always been on the receiving end.

In a dark quiet spot in my brain, I realized that Edward was what I wanted. I didn't dare let that thought rise to the surface. He wasn't mine.

"Harder," he sounded almost hoarse. With one hand he leaned on the gas tank. The other one was cupping my hand. We were still on the back of the bike. I couldn't push his pants down. There was too much in the way.

I gripped him hard and then I pushed all the feelings of lust I had for him. All my wants and needs. I overloaded his senses. That was when he hit the breaking point. He jerked against me and I felt him throbbing in my hand through his riding pants.

I eased his weight back against me. We were both breathing hard. That was when I realized I had my own release. And a sticky mess.

I felt his leg make a small kicking motion and the bike lean just a little. He must have put the kickstand down.

"Wow," I heard him gasp between pants. "Where did that come from?"

I swallowed hard and swung my leg over the back of the bike. All the euphoria I was just feeling was gone. I felt awful. I had forced something on him. Just like what other people had done to me. I was a sick individual. I had to leave before Ed realized what I had done him.

I had made about three feet before I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. When I didn't stop moving, Ed suddenly appeared in front of me. It really was amazing how fast he could move.

"This isn't right, Ed. You need to take me home. I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone what I just did." I wanted to reach my hand out and touch the skin on his cheek. I was soiled goods. I had just forced him to enjoy something sexual. With a man. I was dirty.

"No!" Again I never saw him move. I found both cold arms wrapped around me. Keeping me from going anywhere. He had an iron grip I couldn't fight. I didn't want to fight. I wanted to fall into his embrace and stay there. I forced myself to remain upright. "I came out here to talk. Not here. We have to do a little walking."

"Ed-"

"No, just listen for a moment." he covered my mouth with a hand. "I brought you up this way because I wanted to talk to you. Well, not here...I wanted to show you someplace. Its where I go to think. It's far enough away that no will find us and I can't hear anyone. It's completely private."

I still hadn't move. Something wasn't clicking in my head. All I could think about was the stuff that had been done to me. I had, in turn, forced that on Ed.

"You're not forcing me to do anything that I am not more than willing to do myself. Just always remember, I will always be the willing for you." He gently laid his head on my shoulder and then laid a kiss in the crook of my neck. My knees almost gave under my own weight and the bottom of my stomach clenched. His strong arms held me in place. He wouldn't let me fall.

"Never, I will always be there to catch you." He kissed the same spot again. I'm not used to feeling this way. "I am well over a hundred years old. Do you really think you could make me do something I didn't want to do." He whispered in my ear. He had a definite point. Edward only looked young an innocent.

"You are right. Always remember that. That might save your life." I felt his nose trace my jawline. It took me a second to realize he was sniffing me. It seemed strange. Then he answered me, "because you smell good."

Slowly he let me go and backed away. I was confused. I didn't want him to let go. His touch made me feel grounded.

The past few days have left me spiraling into chaos. I don't know what I was doing. All summer, all I could think about was playing football games and hanging out with Mike and the boys.

The first night I met Ed, I damn near overdosed. Because of Mike no less. Not even a week into the school year, I was already suspended for fighting. Because of Mike.

In less than a week, I went from all American high school jock to lowly outcast. I could only imagine what all my friends were saying about me right now.

"Jasper," he said my name softly. All my sprawling thoughts center on Ed immediately. "Please, will you walk with me?" For some reason, I felt like I could follow him through hell. At this point, I would. I just nodded my head and set out to follow blindly.

We walked for awhile, not saying much. And that was fine. Once or twice I thought about trying to talk to him then I would change my mind. I was at a loss at what to do. I could already feel myself shutting down emotionally. I saw him look at me several times, checking on me. We even managed to make some small talk. Mostly stuff at school. Stuff like who's who and that kind of thing.

We finally stopped a few miles later in the middle of nowhere. We came to a sunny patch in the middle of the woods. Ed stayed back in the shadows. I knew he wouldn't burn in the sun, but I wondered if it hurt. Vicky went in and out of the sunlight, but she was a sadist and a masochist.

"No, it doesn't hurt. I guess all vampires are to some degree. Sensation and physical touch are heightened. It's hard to explain. What a human would consider painful, would make a vampire purr with delight. When emotions are running high, sometimes pain is one of the few things that will get our attention. Sometimes it's like having a permanent case of ADHD."

"Ed," his eyes snapped to me immediately. All his focus was on me. "You said I had two options. Death or change? I can't say I like my options."

"I would think you were insane if you did." He found a fallen log in the shade. Sitting down, he patted the spot next to him. I sat down and turned to face him. I pulled one knee up on the log as I turned. "Look, we really need to have a long talk. You're not some obsessed teen with a vampire fantasy. We have a real problem on our hands. If you hadn't outed me like you did, I could have danced around the subject. For a while anyhow."

"So you would have come clean eventually. I see." There was something he not telling me. He was nervous with a taste of fear. "Why?" I detested beating around the bush. That got on my nerves. I saw him nod before he answered me.

"Let me say this before this goes any further," he was real melancholy as he said this. "Whatever is decided, it will be on your terms. As much as possible. There is only so much I can promise, but I will try. Please listen to everything I lay out before you decide." I nodded, I could do that.

He took a deep breath a few times. The amount of stress that was rolling off of him would have given a human an aneurysm.

"Edward, whatever it is you can talk to me. I can't claim to understand. Not by a long shot. I will always be here for you. I will always listen." He took a few more deep breaths. He was calming down. I was still feeling emotionally withdrawn. It was the only way I could stay calm with his emotions running rapted. I needed to stay centered. I was up against a blade.

I have spent the last 8 years in and out of bad and worst situations. The first 8 years hadn't been the most pleasant either. Both of my parents had their drug of choice addictions. My pa's was alcohol and my ma had a thing for pills. I still kept the accident report in a binder in my sock drawer. That was where I kept all the really important stuff. The stuff I always took with me, no matter where I went.

"Since the day I meet you, I have not been able to stay away from you. Honestly, I don't I think I could if I wanted." He stopped to gauge my reaction. I only nodded. I was reserving judgment for the end of the conversation. It might even take until tomorrow before I was able to make a decision. "Take eternity. For you, I will always wait."

"Then I am not to catch you doing any weird creepy stocker shit." I would make his life a living hell if he did. He nodded again at this thought and I noted the small amount of guilt.

The open window. What else did I miss? Pushing down my aggravation, I motion for him to keep going.

"That and the night before. I stood outside and listen to the house in general. I had to make sure you lived somewhere safe. The Newson's are not my favorite people.I have seen much worse. They're not going throw you out when you turn 18. They will be expecting rent." I could live with that.

I was actually excepting worse. My uncle was an asshole and my aunt was an emotional doormat. They both like to drink. They owned a camping supply store near the center of Forks. The mini fridge was always filled with beer and assorted small liquors in the back office. Mike was bad about getting into it.

"There are some other ideas I might come up with," Ed said with a wistful smile. Again that would depend on how this conversation ends. "Yes, point taken." Get on with it Edward. "For my kind, the change is the most painful thing you will ever experience. It generally takes 3 to 4 days for the venom to spread through the body. It varies from how much blood is taken when you have been drained to where someone has been bitten to the proximity to the heart."

I had very brief thought of how a human shape bite mark over my chest. Right above my heart. It was one the few places on my body that didn't have scars on it.

Involuntarily Ed moved closer. Almost cat-like. Pausing, then he turned to face me completely with quick inhuman movement. I stayed very still as he leaned forward. I thought he was sniffing me. Then I realized he was really trying to get a closer look at my skin.

Strangely, I think he was turned on by my last fleeting thought. I noticed he felt very protective of me. He gave a low growl and I felt his cold fingers pulling at my shirt. He wanted to exam the different scars. Every one of them that he could find, had him asking which were done humans and which were not.

One nasty burn mark on the inside of my arm made him pause. He peeled my sleeve back carefully for a better look. With great care, he gently licked at the old burn. That scar had always been a thorn to me. It was rough and tight. The skin never grew back right. It had always of reminded me of fish scales in a way. It was from a camping trip accident at an all-boys camp one summer.

My skin took a pleasant chill and I could feel the scar tissue itching and tingling. After a few minutes, he did it again. Soothing the irritation.

"Sorry that one looks uncomfortable. I wish I could have found you years ago. I would have saved you. My deepest desire is to take away your pain and make you happy." He rubbed a finger across the new skin making it jump a little because of the new nerve endings.

"What am I to you," I ask quietly. I know there is no one else in this clearing with us. However, it feels like if I talk too loud, something might shatter. For a long span of seconds, he said nothing. Keeping his eyes downcast.

"Mate. My kind mate for life. We pick one partner and that's it for life." I could still feel how prominent his fear was.

"That's what I am to you?"

"Yes," he said in a whisper. He pulled back a little and looked down at the ground. He was worried. I didn't know what to think either. Here was this beautiful creature sitting next to me. Willing to do anything for me. He didn't tell me, but I knew. I could feel it. There was something between us and I could feel it growing. "That is the mating bond."

I resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. Everything was unique about him. From the hair to his delicate bone structure. I was what he desired.

"No. You are what I need," he corrected me. "I will never want someone else. I desire for you to always be happy. To always be safe. To want me as bad as I want you." That last part sounded the best. I had never wanted someone before. It was always me they wanted. Forced, blackmailed, and cursed; it had all been done to me.

Vicky had call James her mate. They had never found a body. Could she had changed him and made him like her. Now somethings made more sense. I was willing to bet that was what had happened to him.

"I am laying high odds on it, Cowboy. I don't think he's dead in the normal sense." I was laying odds on it myself.

"If I chose life as a vampire, what will happen to me?" Ed mulled it over for a few seconds and tried to answer.

"There is this immense pain where every cell in your body is changed on a molecular level. You become pure carbon. A diamond. You will even glitter in the sun like a gemstone. You will always be cold to the touch, but hot and cold don't matter. The temperature won't bother you. You can't touch an open flame. The venom that flows through a vampire's body makes us flammable."

"I want you to change me," I told him. I saw something shining in his eyes. "If that is what I chose." Edward gave me a nod of understanding. He didn't like that last comment, but I didn't care. I didn't have a lot of control in this situation, but I was determined to keep what I could.

"Whatever you decide I will do. I may not want to, but I will."

"Thank you." I was quiet for a little while. "Please take me home now. I have things to do. I need to go take care of them." Edward nodded in return. I knew he understood.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The plot belongs EstrellaGrace and the rest is Stephanie Meyer's. There is abuse in this chapter so if you are uncomfortable….Please stop reading. Proofreading by Strongwolfprincess.

JPOV

I barely remember getting home about an hour after dark. My aunt and uncle wouldn't be home until after midnight. Not like it mattered, they could care less about me.

They were working late at their camping supply shop. I figured they would make a run to the liquor store Saturday to restock their mini-fridge in the back office.

Ed walked me to the front door. We had said very little verbally since we left the meadow in the middle of the woods.

Edward Cullen wasn't human. He had to live by two sets of rules. If he was going to have any interaction with humans, he had to abide by some of their rules. Then he still had to follow the rules of vampire society.

I wish I knew where I fit in with all of this. Ed said I was his mate. I wanted to know what that really meant? I know he gave me the simplified version. I could tell that there was a lot more to it than that.

He appeared to be ignoring what was going on in my head, but I knew better. I didn't want to call him out on it. He was trying to give me the privacy I was yearning for. When my mind wandered to bad places, there would be a sharp spike in emotions from him so I know he was paying attention.

We walked into the house, through the back door. I wandered around the kitchen for a few minutes. Another E-M-F-H night. That was Texan for every-man-for-himself. I got the joy of warming up a couple of hot pockets in the microwave and calling it dinner.

There was no telling when Mike was going to come home. That was fine with me too. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when I realized I didn't have a clue where Ed was. The vampire had wandered off somewhere.

I paused for a few seconds and closed my eyes. Yeah, I could feel him. I could even guess a general direction. Weird, but I liked it. Normally a person had to be within 10 to 12 feet for me to feel them. It was strange to able to still feel him.

I leaned back in the hard wooden chair. I wanted to go off and find him. But I let my head stay in charge and decided to stay where I was and think about things.

If I was his mate, what was James to Vicky? If a vampire like Vicky was attracted to a man like James, what kind of vampire was Ed? I was damaged.

That's when I became aware of him coming in and sitting down at the table next to me. My mind was going at top speed. I was only mildly aware of what was going on around me. I knew the person sitting next to me was Edward.

I could feel his concern for me spilling off of him. And something else. Something I had never felt direct at me before. I had felt it from other people for other people, but never for me. It was strange and heady and I liked it. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I almost felt peaceful.

"Go to bed. Sleep off the stress. Nothing will happen to you tonight. I'll know if somethings coming." Honestly, that wasn't what I was afraid of. I was still awake right now. What happens after I go to sleep was what scared me. "Just try, please" Mike used to wake me up when the nightmares would start. "If that's what you need me to do, I can do that. Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

I was tried. There was no one it the house. I could feel the weight of the past week bearing down on me. I didn't say anymore and I wandered my way upstairs to Mike and mine's shared bedroom. I barely remembered getting changed for bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

The next morning was strange. It's been a very long time since I had been given the luxury to wake up slowly. The blankets were I had left them last night. I hadn't moved from where I had fallen asleep at last night. Normally I was a restless sleeper on a good night. On a bad night, Mike would be there to wake me up.

I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Maybe it was because there was nothing wrong. That was a strange and novel idea. I couldn't feel another human in the house.

I decided to enjoy my leave of school by rolling over and going back to sleep. I curled up on my side, enjoying a feeling of serenity. Absently I blew a stray hair away that was tickling my nose. That stirred up the smell of lavender, almost lulling me back to sleep. Lavender made me think of Edward.

I felt someone pulling the blanket back over me. Everything still felt peaceful, but now my brain knew someone was here. I stayed still letting my brain finish waking up.

"It just me Cowboy. Go back to sleep." The whisper of Ed's voice made me relax again. I could feel him now. No that wasn't right, some part of my brain knew he was there. I had adjusted to his presence. That same part of me knew I was safe with him. He was sitting on the floor near my bedside table, near the head of my bed.

"No, I'm awake now," I told him. I still kept my eyes closed. My voice was still course with sleep. A part of me was refusing to admit I was awake. Perfect sleep and perfect mornings were a rare gift.

After a few minutes, I gave up and sat up. I used my arms to push myself up and leaned against the headboard.

His book bag was on the floor next to him with some reading books next to him. I saw a Tom Clancy paperback sticking out. I love to read, but the written word is not my friend.

Sometimes it would take an hour to read a single chapter. Compared to a normal person who could do in ten minutes. Sometimes I would have to look at a word more than once to make sure that was what I was really seeing. Words and letters would appear out of place and mixed up. Spelling was even worst. Sometimes I would even get all the right letters in the word, but they would be in the wrong order. The only spelling test I could half-ass pass was a rare multiple choice. Getting to high school meant I didn't have to deal with that embarrassment. It did lead me to other problems.

I realized Edward was listening in on my thoughts. I didn't want to think about my problems right now.

"No, but that does explain a few things." His head was bent down, looking at the book in his hands. "That sounds like dyslexia. Have you ever been tested before?"

"The thought never crossed my mind," really it hadn't. I wasn't sure what dyslexia was.

"When I handed you that note the other days, I was trying to see what the words liked when you read it." Slowly he turned to face me. His long sweeping eyelashes had the same red tint as his hair. They were long and graceful. Any woman would kill to have them. I enjoyed his misleadingly delicate but masculine bone structure. Everything was perfect about him.

"Not everything," his voices was hushed and somber. "Please never forget I am and will always be a monster." I didn't like him like this.

I reached out to pull his chin in my direction. It took some effort to make him look at me. I think he gave in and let me do it. I could feel the self-loathing rolling off him.

"Ed, look at me," and I look deep into his eyes. I gave myself a moment to fully study his infinite butterscotch liquid pools and then stopped. I had plenty of time later admire him. "I have seen what human monsters look like. I have seen what your kind can do." I paused to make sure Ed wasn't going to move. "You have a lovely soul. I can tell there is a little bit of darkness in there. I don't care. I have seen so much worse. You don't have to tell me why right now." I pushed his hair out of his eyes. I couldn't bear to see those covered up. "Like I said, I don't care. I'm only worried about today and tomorrow. I can't change the past. Neither can you."

For just a second I felt a lot of raw emotions coming off of him. I watched as he closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. I felt the great effort he into clumping down all his emotion. I could almost feel him locking them away, making himself seem numb. Deaden like. Not healthy.

"I know why I'm not going to school. Whats your excuse?" Edward flashed me a mischievous smile before schooling his face. I could tell he was relieved to be changing the subject.

"You see, Alice and I have this rare blood disorder." This must be their cover story for the humans. "It's an extreme form of anemia." He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. "She wanted to get in on the fun and decided to stay home and make Vee go to school without her. So he's a little miffed at both of us." I could care less. There was something about Vee I just didn't care for. "Trust me, he's not my favorite brother in the world either. He's a bit of a sore loser because of yesterday."

 _Why is that?_ I didn't bother saying anything out loud and it didn't bother him. He seemed to prefer it.

"Because I only hear the answer once. Most people think about something right before they say something. It's not always the same as what they were thinking. It was confusing when I was first turned. Still is every now and then." He paused for a breath. I could tell he was fighting a small smile.

"Vampires by nature, we are very aggressive. Emmett, me, and Vee- a couple of times a week, we'll play fight and wrestle. Most of the time it's friendly competition." Now he wore a full grin. "Now mind you, I have a built-in advantage. I see what you're going to do, right before you physically do it. I am also the fastest in the coven. That means I have a split second to react to what you're going to do before you have a chance to do it."

"Nice," I could think of plenty of times that would have been great. Half the time, my gift crippled me or it would turn me into a blind rage that wouldn't stop until no one was moving.

"Mine can do that too. Its taken many decades to get it under this much control."

"You still didn't tell me why Vee is upset with you." Edward ducked his head in embarrassment. Shame he couldn't blush.

"Emmett and I were on the third round when Vee made a crack and about him losing to a Fairy. Before anyone could react, I jumped from Emmett to Vee and started attacking him instead. Emmett had to pull me off of him. All morning long Emmett was ribbing him for losing to a Fairy."

It didn't seem to really bother Ed being called by slur names. I always hated it. Some milder watered down teasing I could take. Like the kind that guys do in a locker room. Peer pressure is a real thing to me.

That was when I realized I wouldn't be able to tell anyone about me and Ed. This was a small town with small-town prejudices. He was watching me closely. There was no judgment in his eyes, but I could feel his worry.

"I came from a time that if I admitted what my sexual orientation was, I would be ostracized by friends and family at best. Or beaten and left for dead by my community at the worst." I could see his brow knitted together for a few seconds. "Our family has to move every 5 to 10 years. I'm used to not mingling with the rest of the town folk. Realistically I would prefer not to do things that draw attention to me."

I had no idea what to say to that. I caught the word 'our'. How far was he willing to take this? He didn't answer the question, but those golden eyes burned into me. Desperation burned like a candle in him. I was trying hard to understand everything I was feeling off of him. Most of it I didn't understand.

"They already think of you as one of us. If I can't be near you to protect you, someone else will be close by. Also, Alice has a unique way of looking at things." Bye, bye freedom. "That is not what I intended." I knew his intentions were good and probably justified. It still sucked.

"Have my folks left for work?" He only nodded. "Good, take your damn shoes off and get your ass up here," I had every intention of going back to bed. Fuck it. I knew he didn't sleep, but the bed had to be more comfortable than the floor.

"That doesn't bother me, but I am not very warm to curl up with." I didn't care. I slid back down under the covers. I felt his weight settle next to me on the bed. I stretched my back out and arms out on and felt his weight settle against me.

The unnatural chill of his body didn't bother me. It bothered him more than it did me. When I lived on the streets of Dallas, a warm body was a bad thing. I never really slept. I was always half awake, and the second I felt someone touching me or get near me would cause me to want to react and attack. Everything about him was just different enough that he didn't set off my emotional triggers.

I was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when I heard a car pulling up. I didn't move. I was just listening. I felt Ed move a little to peek out the window.

"Who is it," I mumbled. My eyes were still closed. I was being stubborn. I really didn't want to get up.

"Someone who thinks of themselves as your friend." Then his whole mood went sour.

"What's wrong? What now?" _Fuck it._ I was getting up. Whether I wanted to or not.

"How much do you know about your friend? And what does he know about us," Edward whispered.

As in me and you? Ed nodded. Nothing. All he knows about us is that I know what are you.

"He can smell me here." He graceful slid out of my bed and was toeing on his shoes.

That's when I heard Jake banging on the front door shouting. "Damn it, Jasper, I know your home. I just heard you talking to him." Damn, he could hear me upstairs and in my bedroom. His hearing must be as good as Ed's. Looked at Ed as he gave me a brief nod in response. Great.

"Then you can wait a damn minute and let me wake up." The heavy knocking stopped. Yep, he heard me. I didn't bother pulling on shoes and I raked my fingers through my hair as I headed downstairs to get the door. Edward was sitting cross-legged at the foot of my bed when I pulled the bedroom door shut.

I was not in the mood to deal with stupid shit today. Before I open the door I paused to close my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I opened my eyes again when Jake gave a soft tentative knock on the front door this time.

Slowly I open the door. I lean on the doorjamb and study him. He wrinkled up his nose and tried really hard to look over my shoulder.

"He's here, isn't he?" Jake sounded weary. He felt nervous and upset.

"And who would that be," I said in my most secretive and dangerous tone. I level my eyes at him and gather all my will into focusing on Jake. Making him feel off balance and uncertain of himself. I'm not sure how I do it, I just know make it happen. I can just make people feel things if I want it bad it enough. He was already feeling uneasy. I turned around and feed that emotional fire.

"Your leech. The redhead." It took some effort not to grin at the big black-haired native. Yes, he is mine and mine alone. It was a strange possessiveness that I'm not used to. I liked it. I had a feeling that Ed didn't mind. "Just let me in. We need to talk. We might as well do it comfortably."

I left the door open and walked away. I heard him close the door behind him. I head to the kitchen. I wasn't really hungry but I know I needed to eat something. Hot pockets for dinner the night before wasn't enough fuel to keep going the next morning.

Jake didn't say anything, he just sat down at the kitchen table and watched me move around the toaster oven. I found myself humming the county song _Dogs of War_ by Blue Saraceno. It fit my mood.

"It's not healthy to have that thing in your house." I felt myself bristle from his comment. I had ignored the 'leech' remark.

"That THING," and I slammed the coffee pot back in its holder. "Maybe the only person that can protect me." Both my first were balled up and I was beyond pissed.

"Jazz, I can protect you. I have a whole pack. That's what we do. We protect people from his kind." He was very still and he said the word very calmly. He was back to worried again. About me. "I don't know what he has said or what he has promised you, but you do have other options."

"And what is that, Jake? Hide on the Reservation the rest of my life and hope that bitch Victoria doesn't come looking for me. I'm praying she didn't turn my uncle. He's a vindictive son of a bitch. I mean either way I'm fucked, dude." Edward had offered a much better future. Already I could feel an itch under my skin. Almost a wanton need to go back upstairs and be near him.

"That was going to be my offer." He looked defeated. But I knew better. Jake was horrible poker. "But there is another option."

"Whats that, hunt her down?" I need to sit. I grabbed the old wooden chair and turned it around and sat down. "Ed is already working on that. And what the hell did you mean pack?"

"I'm a werewolf." He paused to gauge my reaction. I didn't budge except for the tick I could feel in the corner of my left eye. This was irritating me more and I made sure he could feel it. Why not, I have vampire hiding in my bedroom and a werewolf at my kitchen table.

"Why not! Edward would you come down here please." I wasn't done saying the sentence and he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. I motion to the chair on the other side of the table. Jake was stiff. The only thing moving was his eyes.

"And why are you not in school," the thought just popped into my head. It was an odd thing. I was suspended until Monday and Ed had his little cover story, but was Jake out of school.

"The teachers at the La Push High School are all tribal. Some of them are in on the secret." He had a smug smile on his face. His hands were trembling a little and saw Jake clench hands into fists.

"If you're having trouble controlling yourself," Ed speaks up."We can take this to the backyard. I doubt the rain can make the smell any worse." He leaned back and crossed his arms. Trying to look cool and relaxed, but I could tell he was pissed off.

That's when Jake reached out and grabbed my arm. Ed became tensed he but didn't move. Jake flipped my arm over, pushed my sleeve up, and was looking for something. He looked over at Edward with a question on his face and then looked at me real hard.

"How the hell did you get that fixed?" It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. That burn was the first scar I had ever shown him. It was one of the few you could see when I had a shirt on.

"Vampire venom did it." What the hell! Was he piss because Ed fixed a psychical painful scar?

Unfuckingbelievable!

I saw Ed glance at me. He was worried and I suspect the werewolf was making him a little nervous. The animosity in the room was getting to me. Making me very short tempered.

"Why are you here," I said more sharply than I meant to.

"Well, let's start with, you left yesterday. When you told me you would be there when I got back." I could tell he wasn't done, but he kept glancing at Ed. The vampire was throwing him off balance and Ed was enjoying it. "You told me about the trouble that you're having. Then I find you here, with one of them. I told you to stay at my place." Jake placed both hands palms down on the table. Then he turned to glare at Edward.

"I don't belong to you Jake," I stood up abruptly. One knee on resting on the chair with me leaning on the back of the chair. Both of them stayed seated. Briefly, I saw Jake bare his teeth at me in a canine-like way.

Something rose up in me. A surge of anger rushed through me. Edward crossed his arms and became still as stone. I could tell he was seething too.

"I was freaked out yesterday and looking for answers. I don't have all of them yet but I have a better grasp of the situation. Just get off my damn back!" I wasn't yelling yet, but I wasn't far from it.

"So what is he doing here? Is he just here to keep an eye on you like a bodyguard or is he here to keep you quite? How deep are you in Jazz?" I was in real deep. I didn't want to tell him, but I was way over my head. Way over.

"More of the first," came a quite answer from the other side of the table. Edward hadn't moved. I was relieved that he was keeping the secret for me. I wasn't ready to come out of the closet yet. If I am going to pull a disappearing act down the road, there is no reason to make waves and draw attention to ourselves.

I know one day my skin will be hard, I will run as fast as the wind, and my heart will cease to beat. One day I will be like Ed and I was at peace with that. Ed's eyes flickered to me. I guess I had come to a full decision and I was okay with it.

"Once you came clean to him about what you knew, everything was taken out of my hands." Ed kept his voice even and smooth. I knew Ed would have fessed up eventually but Ed was trying to push a point with Jake and I wasn't sure why. "Yeah Jasper would have figured it out, but you put the life of your tribesmen in danger."

"And how do you figure," the wolf spat back.

"As Alpha of your pack, that means you are also chief of your tribe. In the eyes of the Volturi, you speak was the entire tribe. You hold their life in your hands. In this modern age, there is still a lot of bad things that they could to you and your clan. Their coven has the highest and oldest trained assassins in the world. They have a collection of other vampires in their guard that can do an array different talented things. I know first hand." Now I could feel what was worrying him about that clan. I was willy to bet they had asked Ed to join them. He glanced at me and raised his chin a half inch. I was right.

"You have personal dealings with them," I asked. "Don't ya?" Ed closed his eyes for a fraction of a second then looked at me and nodded. Ed was talented.

"Why," Jake growled out.

"Carlisle is very good friends with two of the three brothers. Well, he calls them friends. That is not what I would be classifying it. Think of it as more like an alliance between covens. As first born, I can speak for him if need be. My coven is the second largest in the world, but we are peaceful for the most part and pledge our loyalty to the Volturi." Yeah, Ed wasn't going to say shit about his telepathy. Not that I could blame him. "One of the three brothers can hear everything that you are thinking. He can see everything that you ever remembered, just by touch."

Yeah, I can see why Ed is a little upset with how this went down. I know what he wanted. For this to be all sweep under a rug. He and I should have been able to pretend to be normal teenager high school students and friends. Graduate from high school, leave this town, and never come back. None the wiser.

Jake was fly in the ointment. He had opened his mouth to someone that wasn't supposed to know.

"Your actually worried about his whole tribe aren't you." It was my turn to grill Ed.

"Yeah," came his quiet answer. I had hit the nail on the head.

"Somehow I doubt the serenity," Jake said gruffly. He didn't trust Edward an inch. And I could see why. Jake didn't see why a Cold One would willingly help his tribe unless there was a catch.

"Is there a catch?" I figured he would say 'no' and then we would spend the next hour trying to convince the big wolf.

"Yes," the vampire answered. That was not the answer I expected. For a second Edward almost looked defeated and Jake looked very smug. I decided I didn't like that. "Since you broke the code of silence, you have to give aid and help protect Jasper."

Strangely he didn't look upset. "I would be glad to," the wolf said to the vampire. "He has been my friend since he moved to Folks." the serenity in his voice matched how he felt. I could tell That Ed was reading him and understood.

"Good, I need to hunt tonight. I'll meet you on the borderline with Jasper tonight."

What the hell Ed? This was not something I was in favor of. I didn't like this idea. That thought brought me up short. Jake's place was where I usually ran away.

Why did this bother me? Ed cut his eyes at me for just a second. Maybe there is something wrong with me.

At the borderline, I was handed off like a bad date. Ed apologized many times and I only gave him a little bit of a hard time. After Jake left, he did explain. I forgave him. I did understand once I thought about it.

Yes, his eye was golden, but they were duller in color then they had were last night. He told me that he had to feed more often to be around me.

He had feed yesterday but he was still hungry. He said that my blood didn't make him thirsty in the normal way. He did a lude to other complications. He wouldn't go into detail, but it did embarrass him. I figured I would get it out of him later.

The dark circles under his were getting really dark. The more I studied them, the more I realized he hadn't been feeding in a healthy way. A vampire that went too long without blood could lose control easier and be a bigger danger to the community. Any vampire was a risk, but a starving one was dangerous.

Jake and the boys were wanting to head out to Port Angles. I guess they were a pack. Now that I knew what they were, I could see the similar traits between them a pack of wolves. There were other things that I had started to see that my human brain had ignored. The inhuman way they moved. Not graceful like a vampire, more like a self-assured wolf. None of them made a noise when they walked or moved. They were one with the earth and nature. This explained a lot when I use to go hiking with Jake. Trying to keep up with him the woods was hard.

Tonight they were wanting to go somewhere with dancing and women. Only three of them were old enough to drink. I doubt any of them would get carded. They all looked about 25. Even Jake and he was my age. Jake told me it was the wolf gene that did that. He said the gene was activated by the presence of the Cold Ones. Vampires.

Some of us piled up in Jake's Rabbit and some of them got in the back of Sam's pickup truck. It took us about an hour to get there from La Push.

At some bars, a minor could go in during early evening hours. Usually to catch music shows or have dinner with a more mature group. Tonight Jake had promised me country music and line dancing. I volunteered to be the designated driver. More of them were under age than not, but if you didn't know their age you wouldn't believe me. They looked more like a group of frat brothers out on the town. The youngest looked 25 and I knew for a fact he was 16.

Drinking wasn't my thing. Really bad stuff happens to me when I get drunk. It fucks with my jinxed up gift of mine. It makes it easy for people to control me. It lowers all the wrong inhibitions. Makes me very susceptible to peer pressure.

Something out of the corner of my eye made me turn my head. Something about the woman behind the bar reminded me of Ed. Maybe it was the way the light reflected strangely off her skin or the inhumanly graceful movements that she made.

I broke away to head to the bar.

"I thought you were driving?" Jake's massive hand grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.

"There nothing wrong with a coke," I said rolling my eyes. Most of the time the bartender didn't charge the designated driver for the first one or two virgin drinks. "Besides, I'm underage. Remember?"

I saw him glance at the bar and then shake his head. He knew what the lady behind the bar was. I had a few questions for him too. I wanted to wait until there were no witnesses to that one. Edward stayed very tight-lipped on that subject. He told me it wasn't his secret to tell.

I unbutton the top two buttons on my shirt and hoped that if one of the Res kids got upset or lost his temper I had enough time to move to the other side of the room. Fast.

I sat down at the bar and waited. She took her time coming towards me. I could tell she was taking care of the other folks so she could take her time with me. I could feel her curiosity burning.

She laid a napkin down then set a glass down on top. She pulled a soda tap out and filled, then stuck a blue mini-umbrella thing in it. It was the same as the wristband on my wrist.

I saw her noes twitching around me. Picking apart my scent was my bet. Her eyes were the same as Ed's. Almost the same. These eyes were older.

"Why are you working in a bar? Why torture yourself if you're not hunting." I had the privilege of watching her head jerk back in surprise. It wasn't much, but I had seen it. I only smiled a little. Maybe I was feeling a little suicidal. Just a little too ballsy. I didn't care anymore.

She gave me a long side glance then she did the same at the passing tribesmen. I saw her noes scrunch up in disgust. She knew they were different too. I was going to talk to Jake more about that later. Fuck it, I was in it this deep.

"You belong to someone. I can tell you're not a lack-wit." She was openly studying me. "In fact, I know who I smell." Her hair had a strawberry tint to it and she wore a fierce grin on her face. "Even with the present company around you, I can still smell him. On you." Those old eyes were searching me for something and be damn if I knew what.

"When Rose called to tell me that Edward had found someone, I got a little upset." I could hear traces of an old Russian accent in her voice. I was starting to feel worried. I should have stayed with Jake. "I've been chasing that boy for almost 80 years. She had the gall to laugh about the hot blonde he had found for himself."

I could feel the heat starting to burn across my face. I was getting a very motley mix of emotion from her. I could tell she had been jealous when Rosalie had told her. Now she was embarrassed.

"I am actually glad that you're a guy." She was giving me a cheeky grin. "Edward was starting to giving me a complex. Always the one to turn me down. Always the gentleman. Always just out of reach."

She raised a single perfect finger and traced my jawbone lightly. She was studying me. She was trying to decide something. With eyes this old there was no telling what she was looking for. She nodded her head.

"I may have wanted his body and never got it, but I valued his friendship more. He can hold his own in any fight with some of the best, but he has a very gentle soul. If you abuse that trust I will make sure hell really will last forever for you." I searched her face. Maybe it was her age that made it hard to read her. There was no way she was younger than Ed.

Maybe this was a chance to get some answers. I looked over my shoulder at Jake and his pack. "Do you think they can hear me?"

"Nay, the bass from the music is too much. My hearing is as good as theirs. I can't hear what they are saying, then they can't hear us." I had to admit, there was something about her that I liked. She reminded me of someone, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Do you mind if I pick your brain for a few minutes?" She smiled a genuine smile and nodded. "Oh, I'm Jasper," and I held out a hand on shake.

"Tonya," we didn't exchange last names, I had a feeling we will see each other a lot more before it was over with. Very gently she gripped my hand to give me a shake. Like Ed, she treated me like I was made of glass. I knew that was a vampire thing. All vampires were strong enough to bench-press a Buick with one hand. I had been on the receiving end of that strength before from Vicky.

"Why are you here?" I tried to be nonchalant about it. The grin on her face grew wider.

"I bought the bar." I wasn't expecting that answer. "The Cullens are like family. We often refer to each other as family. Calling each other cousins. Both of our covens have ownership in thousands of different stocks and many businesses." Then her smile went back to a grin. A very rueful one. "Besides, there is more than one reason to call a woman a man-eater." She wiggled her eyebrows at me and gave me her best attractive leer. "I would be more than happy to have you and Edward in my bed any day. I could teach you both a thing or two."

I could feel my face heating up. I was not a newcomer to sex and all its perversions. There was no telling how old the vampire behind the bar was. With age comes experiences.

That was when I felt Jake and one other person walking up behind me. Both of them glaring at Tonya. She returned the favor by blowing a kiss at Jake and licking her lips at the other one. I think it was Jared. Jake just glared harder and Jared looked sick at his stomach.

"Hello boys," Tonya was having too much fun. She also thought they were hot. I needed to get away from her. My gift made me susceptible to the feeling of others around me. I had more control now then when I was younger. But if a strong enough emotion was present it could override what my head said to my body. All strong emotion did that to me.

When someone was angry I got into a bad fight. When they were happy I was unreasonably giddy. Then the worst one was lust. That made me easy for the first piece of ass I ran across and that made me ashamed.

I got up and walked outside. There are too many bodies in here. I needed air.

EPOV

It wasn't wise the hunt close to home so often. We tried to leave the natural prey near home alone. This was a special case. I had a newly found mate and I was trouble leaving him for long periods.

It also made me have some very bad cravings. When I was around him for long amounts of time, I wanted him other reason besides sex. I wanted to sink my teeth into his neck this morning so bad my teeth and gums were hurting. The need to claim him was starting to get bad.

For the most part, my family was being very understanding. And very patient. Alice went out with me this time. Here lately when I was home she was sticking like glue to my side. She was like my sister in every way but in flesh. That was how I loved her.

I let the second buck fall to the ground and I heard Alice gasp. Her vision slammed into both us. _It was Tonya. She was standing over Jasper's fallen body snarling. There was blood everywhere. His blood._

I was moving before I realized what I was doing. Alice followed close behind. Night had fallen. No one was there witness us moving like the wind. Within minutes, we were passing through Folks and heading towards Port Angeles. By car, it was about an hour. It took less than twenty for me. Alice caught up with me after about two minutes. Where was he?

I closed my eyes and stretched my mind out trying to find him. Something was wrong I could feel it.

"I can't see him now!" Alice was standing beside me with her eye closed like me, searching for him in her own way.

"That means he's with the wolves," I mumbled. "Show me your vision again." I was looking for small details to show me where he was. In the background, I saw the back glow of a neon sign and I could make out country music playing the background. There was only two place in town that offed that genre and only one that allowed minors. I was off in that direction with Alice hot behind me.

Bars were a favorite hunting ground for vampires and muggers alike. I saw the vision. There was no blood on Tonya and she wouldn't show herself to a human.

JPOV

The air was damp and smelled salty. There was a slight chill in the air that told me it was almost the fall season. I leaned back against the damp brickwork.

I needed to go home. Dealing with Jake's wolfpack was putting me on edge more than Edward whole coven could.

I don't think Jake told them that I know about them and the vampires. Jake didn't want them to know that he broke the treaty. Another secret I was keeping.

I let my mind wander. I let me scenes stretch out, feeling the people nearby. That was when I felt something cold and calculating. Something familiar. That something was watching me. All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

I stayed still. I didn't want it to know that I was aware of whatever it was.

EPOV

Alice and I found him. She made us go around the back of the building and then up on the roof. Her thoughts told me that she was trying to stay downwind. I didn't question her. I knew better. Neither one of us said a word out loud. With our gifts, we had it down to a science.

 _There,_ Alice thoughts said to me. I followed the pictures in her mind until I saw what Alice was having trouble pinpointing.

It was another vampire. She was about five foot and six inches. She had a very slim build and bright flaming red hair. Her eyes were a bright ruby red. She was standing in the shadows behind the dumpster. She was standing statue still across the ally from the back door of the club.

I watched as Jasper made his way out the door. I could tell the atmosphere of the club was getting to him. He had a similar problem with crowds like I do.

The female vampire stayed still as stone watching Jasper. In her mind, she was putting the bits and pieces together. Right hair, right skin tone, and the scent all matched.

Jasper knew there was something in the ally with him. He just wasn't sure what it was. He was being careful. He didn't want whoever was watching him, knowing that he knew.

Alice saw what I was about to do. I wanted to go down there. I wanted to rip her apart, throw her in the dumpster, and then set it on fire. Alice put her hand on my leg and her thoughts told me to be still.

 _She has a special talent,_ Alice thought. That made me pause. I raised a single eyebrow at her. It was my way of asking her to explain. _I can't say what it is,_ Alice said in my mind. _It's like she has a gift for being able to get out of a trap or avoid trouble, I'm not sure really what it is._

Just then Jacob Black swung the back door really wide. He looked straight at Jasper and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back inside.

The female vampire was curious about the big stinky guy that hauled her little 'Jazz' back in the club. Her six-scene told her to stay still. That now was not the time to make a move. Everything about the big dark skin native set all her warnings off.

She was also thinking about another vampire. She didn't trust him in a large crowd of people yet and left him down near the docks. He was younger and his control was not as good as hers.

 _What is she thinking,_ Alice asked. I held one finger up. I was letting her know I was already doing that.

The male that was waiting for her had a talent too. He was a tracker. He knew Jasper was here. Her six-scene wouldn't let her go near Folks. The male didn't understand why. The female didn't understand either until she got a look at Jacob Black. He set her fight or flight feelings off like a bight torch. She was betting that the dark haired man was part of her problem.

My lips curled up into a cruel smile. The werewolf was the least of her worries. I was going to enjoy ripping her apart and burning her.

We watched as the redhaired female slinked off into the darkness. They were just scouting right now.

I was going to talk to Jacob tomorrow. This was going to have to be a group effort. The wolf has known Jasper longer than me. I was certain that he would be happy to help me.

 _What are you planning?_ Alice's head whipped to look at me. My future had disappeared. _I'll explain later._ I mouthed the words to her. She was an excellent lip reader.

 _You promise,_ She asked and held up her pinky finger. I rolled my eyes at her and hooked my pinky finger around hers.


	10. Chapter 10

SM owns all.

EPOV

Jasper had stayed the night on the reservation after the wolf pack left the bar last night. I didn't like the fact that he was going where I could not keep an eye on him. I made myself useful by doing some scouting.

I sent Alice home. This upset her, but Vee would never forgive me if something happened to Alice. I more than understood. I didn't blame him. She was his mate. His everything.

She was fervent about keeping an eye on me. That was fine. It was probably for the better that she did. Emmett always said I had lucky bad luck. I had a habit of finding trouble then managing to sidestep it at the last second.

So now, I am doing what I do best. I am looking for trouble. Not in the normal sense. I found a quiet place out near the shipping wharf. I needed a dark place that I could sit quietly for hours. I have a fairly long range. Having touched her mind already, I knew her mental signature now. A vampire's mind felt different than a human's. I am pretty sure I won't have any trouble finding them.

I made sure to stay far away once I figured out where she went. Sure enough, they were held up in an old neglected warehouse near the edge of the shipping wharf.

I found an old rundown house with an elderly man living in it. It was on the same street block as the warehouse. I figured at one time this house must have belonged to a dock-master for one of the shipping yards.

It wasn't hard to sneak into the attic. I needed a place to be out of the elements. It had to be Someplace I wouldn't be discovered. I wanted to listen in on their thoughts during the daylight hours. If I got too close it would set off Vicky's talent. I also didn't want to get too close to the one that was a tracker. If he caught wind of me, I would never be able to sneak up on them again.

I stretched out on the dusty floor and closed my eye. I had to force myself to relax. Alice called this mediating. I disagreed. That was if I was trying to be still and clear my mind. No this was a different type of mental exercise. This time I was reaching out and listening. I have a range of several miles. To reach out far enough and touch Vicky while not listen to everyone else takes a lot of effort. I can do it if I allow myself get out of my own way. I have to take the time and concentrate on the mental signature I want to hear and nothing else.

I did find her. It took some effort. Even her mind is like quicksilver. Once she came in contact with her mate, I had an easier time following their conversation.

He wasn't a newborn anymore. But his control was nervy at best and she knew it. He was new enough that he still had to hunt almost nightly. To me, that said he didn't have a lot of willpower. He wasn't even trying to build up his control and his tolerance. That was a blessing in disguise for. That meant Vicky didn't trust him on his own. As for his sire, she didn't trust her offspring. In my world that was a slight against her. Then I was surprised to feel a third mind entering the warehouse.

He was Vicky's sire. I was able to glean a lot of information from him. He was from the time period before the Louisianan Purchase. He was born a slave to a grand aristocratic family and he carried himself with a great amount of dignity. He had found Vicky back in the 20's. He was able to tell she had a unique talent because of her scent.

I had never thought about the correlation between extra abilities and a human's scent before. It made sense. Jasper has a unique smell too. I was going to ask Carlisle about that later. I had never thought about it before. I did wonder if this was true with every talented vampire.

When she found James, he encouraged her to bring James into the fold. Now he was regretting it. He liked to be in control of everything. That I can understand. James was too reckless for the older vampire's taste. He also didn't approve of James playing with his food. He considered James to be a bad influence on Vicky.

It took a while before I caught the older vampire's name, Laurent. I was elated when she finally thought his name. He was thinking about striking out on his own. He even played with the idea of burning James and Vicky and starting over again with Jasper. He preferred males anyways. Apparently, James only liked boys if they were younger. The coven leader put his foot down about changing Jasper when he was younger. He wouldn't change a child. I was counting my small favors. I was thankful for the small things. Vicky just wanted Jasper and James. She liked multiple male partners together and Laurent wasn't attracted to her even when they all were together.

I didn't really pick up any more plans, other than just hunting. Laurent made them hunt in other towns and cities every time. James hated this but did as he was ordered. Most of the time. He had done some hunting here, no one had found the bodies yet.

Vicky was quick to key Laurent in on the Jacob Black development. This peaked his interest. His mother had carried a lot of old world beliefs with her. After she was sold into slavery and then shipped to America by the Dutch, she had a son. She made sure to teach them all to her son.

Now I was worried about Jake. I should be because he was someone my mate called his friend. I felt my pocket vibrate from a text message. I broke my connection and sat up. I checked my phone and I wasn't surprised to see it was Alice.

She was just checking up on me. She was able to see Jasper at home now. In her visions, anyway. He wasn't there yet. This gave her a time frame of when Jacob Black was dropping him off at his house.

I wasn't finding anything new right now. James and Vicky had gone off on their own for their private time. Laurent was digging through a pile of books he had taken from somewhere.

It was time to find Jacob and start making plans. Now I have more than just my Jasper to worry about. I now had to worry about his pet werewolf.

Jake POV.

I gave up. Jasper was always going to walk right into the fire no matter where I take him. Last night he walked right up to a lady vampire and started making small talk with her. He had always been right on the edge of suicidal. Now I was chalking up crazy too.

I was intending to give him a night out. This was a chance to be one of the guys. I wanted him to have a night out so he could mingle with some chicks. You know, to be a dude.

But no.

The first female he wants to talk to was a leech. I couldn't call him on it with the rest of the pack there with me. I didn't want them to know I broke the treaty. I didn't want them to know that he knew what we were. I wanted him to be able to hide in plain sight. At least as long as possible. My brothers would out eventually that I had slipped up. I just wasn't in a big hurry to let them know about my grand fuck up.

I was still trying to figure out what the other leech's game was. I wanted to know why the redheaded leech was taking a vested interest in Jasper. I wanted to know what Jasper was to him. I didn't know if the one Jasper called Ed was there to just to make sure my friend kept his mouth shut or if he more like some self-appointed bodyguard.

Nothing was making sense to me. Maybe it was the coven leader that had ordered the other one to keep an eye on Jasper.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?" The voice came out of nowhere. I nearly jumped out my car window. Jasper had just got done waving to me and then walking into his house. I had just dropped him off after he had gone camping on my couch again.

"Don't fucking do that," I said while gritting my teeth.

"Sorry," the blood-sucker said. He didn't look the least bit abashed. I had to force myself to relax my jaw and unclenched my teeth and hands. "I thought you would like to know what my sister and I found last night." He was right, I did want to know.

"Yeah, let me park this thing. I don't want anyone to see us." He nodded in response, then he was gone. Damn, he was fast. There was a small walking park around the corner from Jasper's house. I followed the leeches scent there.

Pulling up, I saw the leech standing by a sign for a walking trail. Obviously waiting for me. He waited patiently for me to head his way. I only wanted to go far enough down the trail that no human would see or hear us.

"Spill it," I growled at him.

"My coven isn't the only one nearby," he said. He was very calm when he said this. He said it very softly. The thought chilled my blood.

"Explain," I tried to say just as calmly. Inside, I am panicking. I needed to talk to Sam. I was starting to think that maybe I was in over my head. The bloodsucker was eyeing me. Those strange yellow eyes set me on edge almost as much as a vampire with red eyes did. Only this one made me feel like he was looking right into my soul. I didn't like that.

"Last night, Alice and I followed you and Jasper into town." My eyes narrowed, but I didn't say anything. "I know he has told you some about his upbringing." I snorted. Like that was what it was. More like a fucking nightmare. The one Jasper called Ed was watching me again. With a strange expression on his face. "She is back, but she is not alone. Your tribe is in danger."

"She?" I was trying to play dumb. I didn't know how much he knew or how forthcoming he was going to be. He rolled his eyes at me. There was something else not adding up. I let it go for now.

"Last night when Jasper stepped outside, a female vampire was in the ally with him. She was watching him. She recognized his scent. She knows he lives somewhere around here. She is just not sure where. Yet. She also has a special talent."

Vampires have talents? I thought that went for anyone that was human at one time. Again, I am missing something.

"I am still having trouble here. You need to draw me a picture." I am getting upset. My hands are starting to shake a little.

"Some of my kind have special gifts. It makes us different from the rest of our kind," the vamp said to me. That meant he was including himself. He realized his slip. What was his gift, I wondered.

"Vicky has a unique way of getting out of trouble. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself. When you pulled Jasper back inside the bar last night, she got a whiff of your scent. It set off a fight or flight response. Flight won out." The vampire was standing very still after he said this. It was freaky the way those things can go for hours without moving.

"And what are we suppose to do about it," I didn't know what to. When I said we, I meant the wolf pack. This had me beyond the realm of normal worries. The vampire was staring at me, that wasn't helping. He quickly turned his head and found something else to watch.

"I don't know yet, Carlisle is still debating that, personally. Right now my sister and her mate are keeping an eye on his house." He did seem stressed. I still wanted to know what Jasper's importance was to his coven. The vampire glanced at me again. Maybe Jasper was more important to Ed than the coven. I watched the vamp's eyes narrow at me.

Maybe Ed was gifted too. Then he nodded. A bloody mind-reader. He was bloody fucking reading my mind. You asshole!

"I enjoy Jasper's company," he said softly. "True friendship is hard to come by." I could tell there was something else he wasn't telling me. I decided to leave it alone for a while. I needed to think about the here and now first. I saw the vamp visibly relax when I thought about this. Maybe friendship was a rare thing in his world. "It can be. The human world is something I must deal with on a daily bases. I am always outside looking in. I am never allowed to truly interact. I am destined to always be a stranger. In the rare instance when we find a human that knows what we are, for a short time, we are free to show our true colors."

"At least until you change him," I spit out. "Or you kill him." I saw him close his eyes in pain.

"I promised him, it would be his choice." I head him whisper. "He could very well choose either one. His mind is not made up. I value his decision even if I don't like it." He sank to his knees in the middle of the walking trail. His voice was filled with pain. "No matter what he chooses, he asked that I be the one to do it."

"What do you mean by that?" I was furious. Part of me was mad at Jasper for making this request. But mostly I was mad at the blood-sucking monster at my feet. The dead thing could have just said no. "If I left the act to someone else, I can't be confident that they will show mercy, be gentle, or do as he asks. His last wish is to be in complete control." His words were choked as he said them and his eyes are downcast.

For someone like Jasper, I think I do understand.

"Get up," then I reached down and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to his feet. He didn't resist me. I was surprised. He kept his eyes on me the whole time. "Until we know what we are dealing with, this is what we are going to do." I was careful not to give all my plans away. I was going to have to come clean to the rest of the pack tonight. "You will stay with him. You will be his shadow. " He nodded and I let the vampire go. "My pack will enlarge our patrols to include Forks. In a day or two, we will all regroup together. Jasper too. I will not lie to my best friend."

I turned to leave. It was almost time for patrols. I had to go. I had a lot on my mind. I turned around to say something to the leech, but he was gone.

Jasper POV

Dealing with Jake and the boys takes a lot out of me. My stress has yet to hit its peak and all I wanted to was lay down on my aunt's couch and take a nap. I was blessedly alone.

I was out the second my head hit throw pillow.

 _I feel stronger. More solid. My vision is sharp and perfect. The beautiful creature in front of me was standing still. Watching me._

 _He is mine. I can feel it. My body is vibrating with need. My muscles coil. I spring at him. He did not resist me. I push him down to the ground and bite into his neck. Marking him as mine. His moan spurs me on. I need to claim him as mine...Now..._

"Dude, wake up!" Something cold and icy hits my face. I sat up with a start. Mike was standing over me with a glass of ice water. He was dripping little drops of cold water on my face to wake me up. Then I noticed that my dick was painfully hard. "Wow, she must be hot!" Mike's face was inches from mine and he was grinning. "Sorry. Normally you're having a nightmare."

I was surprised he was home. It was just as well he woke me up. That was me in the dream and that was Edward too. I could still feel the wild untamed energy dancing along my skin. I glanced at Mike and then left to go upstairs. I didn't say a word to him. I didn't trust my voice yet. He wasn't bothered. He knew me. He knew very well that I was a moody son of a bitch when I woke up.

I needed to take a shower. A long cold one. Stepping into the bathroom, I turned and locked the door behind me. I didn't feel like being interrupted again.

I stripped and left everything in a heap on the floor. I stepped into the shower stall and pulled the curtain to.

My erection was still hard. I do mean painfully hard. I didn't even wait for the water to warm. I didn't even bother turning it to hot. I wanted this to go away.

I bit my tongue hard to keep from groaning out loud. The coldness only reminded me of Ed. A cold shower was making it worst. I grasped myself hard and let the coldness run over my head. Slowly I moved my hand up and down imaging how he would feel. I can feel the pressure building and my balls start to tighten. I used my other hand to balance myself on the shower wall. I tighten my hold as I stroke. Then my release hits me as hard. I sink to the floor of the shower. The coldness finely sinking in.

Reaching up, I turned it to hot. I needed to get cleaned up. I hurry along and then I step out and wrap a towel around my waist.

Once I am dressed, I hear a knock on the bedroom door. It's Mike. He was bubbling over with curiosity. Will wonders never cease. He was as bad as a dog looking for a bone.

"I hope you're decent!" That was officially the only warning I was getting. He busted in all excited. What the hell was with him? "Okay, who is she?"

Oh, that's what he wanted to know. He thought I was dreaming about a girl. This was a conversation I wasn't having with him. He was totally ignoring the glare I was giving him.

We shared a medium size bedroom on the second floor of his parents' house. The room was crowded with a single nightstand and two twin beds. One on each side of the nightstand. There was only a single lamp. Mike had a small dresser on his side of the room. I had an army style footlocker chest at the foot of my bed. It had belonged to my Pa when he was in the army. There was a small closet on the other side of the room and we shared a bathroom in the hallway.

"It's not what you think Mike." Yeah, it was. Almost. He had it almost right. It was a guy, not a girl that I was dreaming about. One that wasn't human on top of that.

"On a lighter note," Mike grinned and sat down on his bed across from me. He looked like the cat that ate the canary. "Coach is expecting us bright eyed and bushy tailed Monday."

"Cool, I 'm still on the team!" I suddenly felt a hundred times better. I fell back on the bed feeling giddy.

"On one condition," I go still. My insides going cold. "You have to get a tutor. One that's not me." I prop myself up on my elbows. I did not like where this going.


End file.
